UNTHINKABLE
by Sedanur
Summary: Aurah becomes a half-vampire because of her grand father's dangerous expriment on biological evolution. When she is sent to Tri-Cities to get to know her "real" father, she comes across someone else whom she is interested in... Ben!
1. Chapter 1

**UN-THINKABLE**

Based on Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

(After "Silver Borne")

All characters are created by Patricia Briggs **except for** Castle Family, the detectives, the members of London pack.

**SUMMARY:** Richard Castle, an elder rebellious scientists, defies ethical boundaries and forges ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and vampire DNA! As a sujet, he uses his own daughter, Angelina, who is secretly expecting a baby from Samuel Cornick, Marrok's elder son! As a result, not only Angelina but also her baby girl gets born as a half-vampire... AURAH.

(_**Soundtrack:** Unthinkable(I'm Ready) - Alicia Keys )_

A knock-knock on the door in early morning:

"Samuel?" A familiar voice called out yawningly.

Samuel woke up from his dream. "Oh! No," he muttered to himself. It was such a lovely dream which he'd never want to wake up from.

"For God's Sake, Mercy, this is Sunday!" Samuel yelled back.

"May I come in?" She asked.

"Sure."

The door swung open and Mercy walked in.

"Did you really have to wake me up? I was seeing a beautiful dream," Samuel said, scratching his hair.

"About Ariana?" Mercy smiled from the corner of her mouth.

"Not actually…" He sighed. "I saw that I had become a father. A baby was in my arms. So beautiful, so… adorable!"

"Same old Samuel," said Mercy, caressing his head.

"So… Do you have a valid reason to wake me up at 6 a.m.?"

"Yes, indeed. Someone wants to see you."

"What is it about?" He yawned.

Mercy shrugged. "I don't have a clue."

Samuel jumped out of the bed and put his green t-shirt on quickly to welcome his uninvited visitor. He followed Mercy to the kitchen where an old man was sitting, drinking his coffee. He had a black suit and a hat which made him look very sophisticated. He was holding his overcoat in his hands.

"Hello. I guess you are looking for me?" Samuel asked.

After he took a sip of his coffee, the old man raised his head and looked Samuel in the eye. "Are you Dr. Samuel Cornick?"

There was something in his eyes. Something ravenous… It was sort of unbelievable that Samuel almost shivered - considering he is one of the most powerful and dominant werewolves-.

"Who wants to know?" He raised one eyebrow.

"I'm Richard Castle, father of Angelina Castle. Are you familiar with this name?"

Samuel's mind had sudden flashbacks. Of course he was familiar with the name. Angelina Castle, his former girlfriend…

"Angelina and I…" He paused for a moment to pick up the right words. "We were very close back in the day. Eighteen years ago…"

"I know," the old man said, "Which is why I'm here right now."

"Mr. Castle… Can I call you Richard?" Samuel asked.

"No, you can't," he replied callously.

"Okay." Samuel took a deep breath.

Mercy was watching two men with full attention. "Mr. Castle, what is it that you want from Dr. Cornick?" She asked.

The old man took his wallet out and showed Samuel a photo of a teenage girl with light brown hair and honey-colored eyes.

Samuel was mesmerized. He had looked at the photo for a whole minute as immobile before he murmured "Adorable!"

"She is yours," said Richard without taking his gaze off of Samuel.

Samuel's mouth fell open.

"Why are you so surprised? You already knew that my daughter was pregnant when she left!" Richard said harshly with his deep cold voice.

"S…s...she told me that she would have an abortion," Samuel stuttered.

"But she wouldn't."

"She wouldn't?" Samuel muttered to himself.

"No."

"I have a daughter?" Samuel looked at the photo again. The girl in the photo was 12 years old.

"Wait a minute," he said, "Angelina and I broke up eighteen years ago. But this girl is like twelve."

"She can control her aging," Richard replied.

Samuel was struck dumb. "Is she…Werewolf?"

"Not exactly…"

"Now I am confused," Samuel smiled. "If she is not fully human, then what is she?"

After Richard put his coffee cup on the table and thanked Mercy for the coffee, he turned his direction to Samuel again. "I used to be a scientist. I made a number of tests on human and animal DNAs." He paused and took a breath. "Eighteen years ago, I found a dead body into the woods. His skin was as white as snow and his body as strict as iron. Most important of all, there was almost no blood in his veins! I immediately understood what it was and I brought it to my laboratory. I took his DNA samples to use in my new experiments.

By this time, my daughter came back from her college city and she said she wanted to spend some time with me. I said 'Okay.' She was helping me as a laboratory assistant. I was trying to find a way to combine human and non-human DNAs to create a faster, stronger human being. When I told Angelina about my discovery and my plans, she got very excited. She was willing to be the first for the experiment. I said 'NO!' of course. But she kept on pressing me day by day. In the end, I gave up and said 'Yes'.

I had no idea that she was pregnant. She never told me. And I had never suspected… until her womb started growing. The fetus was affected as well. It grew up three times faster than a normal human fetus could. Angelina gave birth to a baby girl only after three months!"

Richard noticed that Samuel was holding his breath as he was listening to the story.

"Hey! Breath, or you're gonna choke." Richard curled his lip.

Mercy's situation was no different than Samuel's. Her hot chocolate went cold. Cause she wasn't even drinking.

"You gave her vampire blood? How could you?" Samuel was really chocking this time. He coughed noisily.

"You're not in the proper situation for judging me, son! You should have thought before you let Angelina go with your baby in her womb!" He yelled back at him.

Samuel lost half of his dominance towards this old man. He lapsed into silence.

"Anyway," Richard continued. "We named her 'Aurah'. She was supposed to be 18 years old by now, but seemingly she likes being 12. She's half vampire; fast, strong and able to fly! She survives on human food. Only when she feels weak, we get some blood for her from the blood bank. She's incredibly intelligent. We provided home-education for her after elementary school. She attended the exams and got her high school diploma last year."

"I don't know what to say," Samuel bowed her head.

"Frankly, I've never thought of bringing this to you. But, recently she started asking questions since she'd found a photo of you & Angelina in the attic. She keeps saying that she has something to say to you."

"I'd like to meet her." Samuel raised his head and looked at Richard hopefully. "I want to… No, I'm dying to meet her. When can I see her?"

"I think I can arrange something," Richard replied unhappily.

"Can I come with you now? Where do you live?"

"We live in Brooklyn/New York. I have a flight this afternoon. And I think I gotta talk to both of them before you get involved. Because Angelina doesn't know that I'm here!"

"Oh, I see," Samuel murmured.

"Here is the phone number to my house. If I can't convince Angelina, then you try your luck. If you manage, maybe you'll able to see your daughter."

"Thank you," said Samuel, putting the paper in his pocket.

"I hope this won't end badly," said Richard.

"What do you mean by that?" Mercy cut in.

Richard threw Samuel an angry look. "I believe that she's blaming you… She thinks that you should have followed Angelina when she left you. You should have told her how much you wanted this baby. You should have told her that you were wealthy enough to take care of a child!"

"Are these thoughts hers? Or yours?" Samuel said irascibly.

"Ours!" Richard replied before he put on his overcoat and walked out the door…


	2. Chapter 2

**2 Months Later**

Samuel was waiting impatiently at the domestic lines with his car keys in his hand. It had been two months since he had met Mr. Castle and found out from him that he had a daughter. During that time, Aurah and Samuel e-mailed each other for a few times and Aurah asked for a DNA test to make sure that they were father'n daughter. With a piece of hair that she had sent him in an envelope, Samuel took the paternity test. And the results were positive!

Nevertheless, it never became so easy for him to convince Angelina, the mother of Aurah, about seeing his daughter. But in the end, with so much pressure coming from Richard, Samuel and Aurah, she gave up and said "Okay!"

Richard phoned Samuel a night before and told him that Aurah would be coming to D.C. with the first flight in the morning. Samuel was excited. He was abnormally excited for a man who hardly became unsure of himself. When he spent more than a few minutes in front of the mirror, Mercy began to make fun of him.

"You have a date?" She grinned.

"It's more than that," Samuel replied, putting on his new shirt.

While he was driving from Tri-Cities to Airport, his heart was tumbling down. _What if she doesn't like me? What if she changes her mind and wants to go back tomorrow?_

He knew that he couldn't bear it. Since last night, he'd been dreaming of holding her tight and saying to her how she turned his world upside down.

The announcement came from the loudspeakers: "The flight NY1254 from New York has landed. The flight NY1254 from New York has landed."

This was it. This was the plane he had been waiting for. Samuel drew near to the passenger door. Lucky that he had seen her photo before… So that he would recognize her as soon as she bounced out that door.

The passengers of NY1254 started to show up getting their luggages. Samuel was right towards the door when a twelve-year-old girl with commando pants and camping boots went out. Her light brown hair was thick and short. She had just one school bag and a Blackberry in her hand. Seeming she was waiting for a call, either from home, or from her new father who was supposed to pick her up.

Approaching to her, "Aurah?" asked Samuel shyly.

She turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were honey-colored and shiny. When she saw Samuel, they even glittered more.

"Samuel Cornick?" She raised an eyebrow.

"None other!" Samuel smiled.

She extended her hand to him in a very adulty way, like a business man who was greeting his business partner. Having been impressed, Samuel shook her hand tightly.

"Welcome to Washington State," he said.

"Thanks."

They walked together, side by side, to the parking lot. Samuel was examining her in detail as they walked. She wasn't short -which wasn't very surprising, because, Angelina was a tall woman. Aurah was around 5'5. That was kinda tall for her age. She was like a tom boy with her olive-green commando pants and brown camping boots. The black earphones to her Mp3 player were around her neck.

When they reached the car, she didn't wait for Samuel to open the door for her.

"Nice car," she mumbled.

"Thank you." Samuel's face brightened. "If you had been 18, I'd have let you drive."

"I don't need that," she said smugly. "I know _a faster way_ to travel."

They looked at each other and Samuel laughed.

"Is this your place?" Aurah asked with a disappointed voice in tone.

"Well, actually this is Mercy's place," Samuel replied. "I told you on the way, remember?"

"But you didn't mention that it was _another_ trailer coach. How am I supposed to fit in?"

Samuel scratched his hair. "I guess you're right. Maybe you can stay at Adam's place for a couple of days before I…"

"Forget about it!" Aurah interrupted. "I have no intention to stay in a werewolves den."

Samuel couldn't help but laugh. "I'm a werewolf, too."

"But you're a lone wolf. He's an Alpha! Alphas' houses always get crowded!"

"Mmm… I see." Samuel rubbed his eyes desperately. "Would you just try to endure it for few days? I'll rent or even buy an apartment for you to stay with me the whole summer."

"Fine," she grumbled to herself.

Samuel had knocked the door twice before Warren answered.

"Dr. Cornick," he greeted Sam.

"Hi, Warren. Is Adam here?"

"He's upstairs." Warren raised his eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"

"Sort of," Samuel replied as Aurah showed at the door behind him.

Warren looked at her curiously. Her cute pale face got him impressed, too. "Who's this baby girl?" He asked.

Samuel threw his arm on her shoulder in a possessive way. "This is my daughter, Aurah Castle… Cornick!" He said proudly.

Warren's eyes got wide open as he examined the girl who was looking him in eye. She was human… and non-human in a way which he couldn't figure out. He could feel her heart. He could feel her breath… But still there was something unusual with her. She didn't seem to drop her gaze before him.

"Since when have you had a daughter?" He asked.

Samuel surprised. Obviously Mercy hadn't talked to Warren about Aurah. She deserved every felicitation for not using Samuel's private life as gossip stuff.

"Well… For twelve years," Samuel replied.

"No, for eighteen years actually," Aurah corrected him.

Warren was confused. His gaze was going back and forth between the father and daughter. They looked like each other in some ways. The same hair color, the same stare, the same posture… But the nose was different!

_Lucky girl! She must have got her nose from her mama, _Warren thought.

Having heard this delightful conversation, Adam came downstairs with Jesse following behind.

"Dr. Cornick, how can I help you?" He asked politely. But his attention was all for Aurah.

"My daughter is not very fond of living in Mercy's new trailer. And I couldn't be smart enough to buy an apartment for myself before she came here. So, I was gonna ask you if she could stay here for a couple of days…"

"Of course, she can!" Jesse said vociferously. Then she looked at her father apologetically. "She can, can't she, dad?"

"Yes, of course." Adam caressed Jesse's hair.

"Thanks for your hospitality," Aurah said in manner that no one can figure out whether she was serious, or being sarcastic.

"Okay…" Samuel looked at her. "I'm going to the real estate agency now. I'll try to find a perfect apartment for us to live in."

"Find a house with a garden," she said high-handly. "And a pool, if possible…"

"Okay… So house it is." Samuel grinned.

Warren and Adam looked at each other trying to hold back their laughter. When their gazes met with Samuel's, he coughed.

"She's from New York," he explained.

"Obvious." Adam shook his head.

"Quite obvious…" Warren agreed.

"Jesse, why don't you take Aurah to the kitchen? She came from a long way. She must be hungry," Adam offered.

"Come!" said Jesse, taking her hand.

After Samuel had watched his daughter bouncing over the steps with delight, he turned around to go hunt for a house which would appeal to Aurah's taste.

"Chicken wings, or Roasted beef?" Jesse asked in the kitchen.

"I like fish," Aurah curled her lip.

"Fresh out Fish," Jesse replied. "I think I'm gonna go with roasted beef."

"As you wish!" Aurah said boringly. She placed herself at the kitchen table and started to play with her Blackberry.

"So, which school do you attend to?" Jesse asked as she put the roasted beef into the microwave oven.

"I finished school," Aurah replied proudly.

Jesse rolled her eyes. "What do you mean by 'you finished school'? You're just 12!"

"I'm an upper advanced student. I finished one year early."

"One year? You mean 'six years', right?"

"No. Only one year. I was supposed to turn 18 this year. But I stopped."

"What do you mean by that again? You're talking like a puzzle!" Jesse laughed.

"What I mean is I can control my aging. Because I'm a…"

Aurah had to pause because her speech was interrupted by a loud, arrogant voice, approaching from the hall.

"Oh! It smells roasted beef! This must be heaven!"

Aurah turned her head to left to see the voice's owner. A slim, young man with blonde hair walked into the kitchen door. He froze for a moment when he saw the little stranger sitting at the kitchen table, looking at him with big, honey eyes. They examined each other for a few seconds in silence.

"Who is this?" Aurah asked Jesse, breaking the silence.

"This is Ben. One of my father's pack," Jesse replied.

"Hey," Ben cut in as bewildered. "I'm the one who's supposed to ask this question."

Aurah's eyes widened. "Are you British?" She bit her lip. "Like Mark Owen?"

"I beg your pardon?" He raised his eyebrows. "Like who?"

Aurah smiled smugly. "Mark Owen from _Take That!"_

"Ah, ouh, the foolish boy bands," he murmured, rolling his eyes.

Aurah frowned. "If you are looking for someone foolish, just go look into the mirror!"

Ben was struck dumb. After a short pause, he collected himself and yelled: "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Hanging loose, Aurah answered: "I'm Aurah Castle from New York, Dr. Samuel Cornick's biological daughter!" And she smiled cherubically.

?

"And you?"

…

"Won't you introduce yourself, Benjamin?" She seemed to enjoy pressing him instantly.

Ben heaved a sigh. "I think I'm going to wait in the living room for the beef to be ready," he said, turning around to leave the kitchen.

"Uuuh, you knocked him down!" Jesse whispered -after she became sure that Ben was away.

"Round 1," said Aurah, looking at the direction Ben had gone with a cunning smile on her face…


	3. Chapter 3

"Smug little bitch!" Ben grumbled under his teeth while he was sitting inside the living room. TV was on, but his attention was somewhere else.

"The lunch is ready!" Jesse called out, standing at the door. "I thought you were hungry."

"I'm hungry," Ben murmured. "Has your friends gone?"

"No, she is in the kitchen."

"I'll eat later, then." He sighed.

"Okay." Jesse curled her lip as she turned around.

Lying on the settee, Ben changed the channels with the remote aimlessly. His stomach started rumbling.

"Are you waiting for an invitation card to come to lunch?" asked Aurah, walking into the room with a trayin her hands.

Ben sat up in his place with a bewildered expression on his bitter face. Aurah smiled and put the trayon his lap. Ben was at a loss as to what to say. He couldn't believe that he was stultified by a twelve-year old. Aurah took the remote from his hand and switched to HBO.

"True Blood's new season is starting tonight," she said, gazing at the TV.

Ben raised his hand from his meal. "Are you a little too young to watch a TV show like that?"

Aurah shrugged. "Well… I'd have been 18 years old by now if I hadn't…"

Ben raised one eyebrow. "If you hadn't what?"

"Nevermind!" She sighed

Although Ben was curious for her unfinished sentence, he didn't press her. He almost felt like he couldn't even if he had wanted to. She was like more powerful than him in some way.

"Where is Jesse?" He asked instead.

"On the phone… With her boyfriend, I guess."

After two minutes passed in silence, Aurah looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Jesse says you don't like women. Is that true?" She innocently asked.

Ben thought for a moment before he replied. Then, "Whatever she said, it's true," he replied callously. Then he took a sip of his orange juice.

Aurah's self-confident smile got widened. "Lucky that I'm not a woman… Yet!"

Ben's orange juice gushed out of his nose. He coughed so hard to breathe again. Aurah didn't seem to give up so easily. She kept on driving him to the corner.

"Do you have a mate? I mean, have you ever had a mate?"

This time, it was the food which stuck in Ben's throat. He drank the orange juice in one fell swoop. Aurah was enjoying it while he was suffering with her unexpected questions. No one had asked Ben such questions before.

"It's none of your business," he replied.

"I know it's not. But I wanna know."

"Can you just leave me alone?" Ben said harshly.

"Why don't you like me? I said I'm not a woman!" Aurah laughed.

"I don't want to hear one more thing about _this_," said Ben, looking at the little chubby girl who was sitting next to him.

"I take this as a 'No'," she tittered.

Ben threw his head back. "Oh, Lord! Show mercy on me!" He said, looking at the ceiling.

"Aurah, help me make some desert!" Jesse's voice came from the kitchen.

"I guess, God has heard your call," Aurah said to Ben, grinning.

Then she bounced out the room while Ben was looking behind her as dazed and confused…

**Three Days Later**

It was 7 a.m. when Ben's phone started ringing. Grumbling, he jumped out of bed and looked at the name on the phone screen. He was surprised. It was someone there who had never called him before; Dr. Samuel Cornick.

Ben pushed the answer button: "Hello?"

"This is Dr. Samuel Cornick," the voice said from the other side of the line.

"I know," Ben murmured. "Your number was in my phone records. How could I help you at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, Dr. Cornick?" He wasn't giving up being arrogant even towards Marrok's son.

Samuel sighed. "I'm gonna ask you for a favor."

"Okay. What is it?"

"I have to be at the hospital all day long. And Jesse has gone to her mother yesterday. Mercy is so busy with her cars… Well, Aurah doesn't want to spend the day all by herself."

Ben swallowed. "Are you asking me to take care of that little b…baby?" He managed to change the word with a sudden stratagem before he called the girl a rude name. Cause, Heaven Forbid, Samuel could have ripped his head off easily if he had said so.

Samuel understood and yet overlooked what he had said – because it wasn't personal. This was Ben's usual attitude towards every woman.-

"I told her that Honey or Arielle might stay with her, but she insisted on YOU," he replied unhappily.

Ben put his hand on his forehead. "I'm sorry but I'm kinda busy today." _He lied._

"I understand." Samuel smiled. He knew very well that Ben just lied. But he didn't care. All of a sudden, Aurah –who had been listening to the conversation from the beginning- cut in:

"This is Sunday! And you don't have a girlfriend!" She yelled to the phone. "And I don't think that you go to church on Sundays!"

Ben started sweating and stuttering: "I… I… I was going to run some errands."

"Good, I can help him to run some errands," Aurah said to Samuel smugly.

Samuel took a deep breath before he talked again. "Ben, seemingly we've got no choice. I'm not your Alpha, so I can't order you. But I can call Adam and ask him to order you for this. Understand?"

Ben wiped away the tears on his forehead and surrendered. "Okay. Bring her here."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," Samuel replied before he hung up.

"Where has this sudden interest for Ben come from?" Samuel asked Aurah inside the car as he drove along to Ben's place.

"What interest?" Aurah said, playing it cool. "I just met him three days ago."

"All right…" Samuel assumed on a serious air. "Maybe I should tell you a few things about him."

Aurah's eyebrows flew. "Like what?"

"Well, he was exiled from London pack."

"Uh, I know that. Warren told me."

"Did he tell you why he was exiled?"

"Hmm… well, no he didn't."

"He had become a suspect for a serial murder…"

Aurah's mouth fell open. She was at a loss as to what to say. She just waited for her father to continue. But Samuel said no more. He preferred to enjoy Aurah's silent reaction. He definitely knew that Ben was not guilty. But he was ready to make Aurah believe this if it would change her idea about spending time with Ben. Guilty or not, Ben was not a man to trifle with…

However, his plan didn't work! After a minute of thinking, Aurah took a breath and smiled cherubically:

"I think I'm gonna figure this out on my own," she said calmly.

Samuel swore under his teeth. He was giving his baby girl to a potential psycho with his own hands. But he had no choice. Because Aurah had already told him sharply that an "absent father" had no right to manipulate her in her own decisions! Soon as she heard the words "No, you can't!" she was going to pack her bags and fly back to New York. Therefore, Samuel had to switch from dominant to submissive to make Aurah stay with him longer.

When the car approached to the building, Samuel called Ben again: "We've arrived!"

Ben got out of the door while Samuel was kissing his daughter's forehead. Then he turned his direction to Ben for a browbeating.

"Aurah, can you go inside? I need to talk to Ben for a second in private."

"Sure," Aurah replied, throwing Ben a "poor thing" look as she was passing by.

Ben and Samuel stood against each other. Samuel's head was above:

"She is here as a result of her own will, not mine! But this doesn't mean that I won't rip your head off if she gets hurt at the end of the day. Are we clear?"

"Clear." Ben nodded.

"Good. I'm going to hospital. Since you know my mobile number, you can call me for anything about her," said Samuel before he got in the car and went away.

Ben looked at the door to his house hopelessly. "Bloody hell! Babysitting… That's all I need right now!" He grumbled to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you have internet connection?" Aurah asked Ben as soon as he walked into the room.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Of course I have."

Aurah took her mini laptop out of her back bag. "What's your password?"

Ben grimaced. He'd never told anyone the password to his wireless connection before. He thought for a moment like he had a choice. Then he heaved a sigh: "Keiraknightley1985"

Aurah looked him straight in the eye. "As in _Keira Knightley_? The actress?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ben muttered.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" She started laughing.

Standing by the kitchen's doorstep, Ben crossed his arms. "May I ask you what is so funny?"

"Well…" Aurah collected herself and spoke with a curled lip. "Your password is the name of a female actor! That's what is funny."

"So what?" Ben shrugged.

"_So what?" _Aurah raised an eyebrow. "Supposedly, you hate women, but even your password is a woman name. This is sort of contradiction!"

"First of all, I've never said that I hate women. People think that I do, for some reason. Second, I'll be honest with you. Keira Knightley is one of the hottest things I've ever seen. For me, her name is hard to forget. That why I chose that as a password."

"Hot? You think she is hot?" Aurah burst into laughter again.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do! What are you laughing for now?" Ben said irascibly.

"Sorry but she is so skinny," Aurah replied with a smug smile. "As if she's gonna fly like a feather when the wind blows strongly!"

Ben opened his mouth to give her a good response, but the words wouldn't come out. He examined this twelve-year-old girl for a few seconds, trying to figure out why and how he was being defeated by her. She had some kind of power which he couldn't name. A power which makes him want to fight and obey at the same time…

"Whatever… What do you have for breakfast?" Aurah distracted him.

_Breakfast? _Ben thought being surprised. He always had his breakfasts at a small restaurant near his office.

"Are you gonna keep me hungry all day long? I don't recommend this!"

Ben shook his head off to collect himself. "I'd better go to the supermarket. I have nothing in reserve." He took the keys to his truck and put on his sneakers.

"Better make it snappy!" Aurah called out to him from behind.

"Lord, give me patience," Ben muttered to himself.

After he had gone, Aurah searched on internet for the serial murder incidents in London of recent years and finally she found one!

The news was titled as "Prostitute Murders" on the website. Three women were raped and killed in London by the same methods. The police found a suspect but they had nothing to hold_ him_ on.

_Was it Ben? _Aurah lapsed into thoughts. _Why did they suspect of him? From fingerprints? Was his blood or DNA found on the crime scene_?

She turned off the screen suddenly when Ben came back whistling with shopping bags in his hands.

"I've got everything that is needed for a breakfast," he said with joy.

"I hope you're good at making omelette," Aurah replied.

Ben's eyebrows flew up. "I beg your pardon?"

"Don't you understand American English? I said I wanted an omelette for breakfast."

"Okay, that's it!" Ben yelled, putting the bags harshly on the kitchen table. "I might be rude or abrasive or even sexist, but I'm definitely NOT a slave for a teenage witch!"

Aurah seemed not to give a hang. "I recommend you to do as I say. Don't make me hurt you, Benjamin," she said mildly.

"Bloody crap! I wonder how you're going to do that!"

"Don't confuse me with those vulnerable women in London!"

"What did you just say?" Ben growled.

"You heard me, psycho!" Aurah yelled back.

Ben eyes smoldered with fire by every sharp word that came out of Aurah's mouth. _She thinks that I'm a killer, _he thought. He felt all the blood in his body rushed to his brain. If that weren't Marrok's grandchild, he would have kicked her out of his house already. He breathed heavily to calm down. When he turned his head around and met Aurah's gaze, he saw something different in her eyes. They were like saying: _Please, tell me that it is not true! Please, defend yourself!_

He understood that Aurah was not apt to believe that he was a murderer. She just enjoyed pissing him off. Ben collected himself and decided to play the game by her rules.

Scratching his hair, "Well, what can I say? My reputation beneaths me," he said listlessly.

Aurah bit her lip. "So… It was you who had done that, was it?"

Ben took a chair and sat against Aurah. "I really don't care what people think or say behind me. God knows that I never touched any of those women. I don't know why they were killed. I don't know who did that or why it stopped after I emigrated." He sighed. "I don't know why I feel like I have to tell you all these. I've never talked to anyone about this before. Not even to Mercy or Warren…"

After short pause, Aurah smiled; "I know." Then she stood up and headed for the kitchen. She took the cheese, eggs and tomatoes out the bags.

"I need a frying pan," she called out to Ben.

As bewildered, "You've decided to make the omelette?" Ben asked.

"I guess you've deserved it." Aurah cracked a smile.

"The pan is on the upper shelf. Let me help you, shorty!" Ben got into a humorous mood. He'd almost begun to enjoy Aurah's presence.

"Hey! I'm not shorty. I'm 5'5… for now!" Aurah laughed while she was mixing the cheese with the eggs.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm sorry Dr. Cornick, but you're gonna have to stay for the night shift," said Dr. Richmond, the head physician of the hospital**.**

"I had my night shift four days ago. Why again now?" Samuel objected.

"Dr. Fournier went to run a seminaryin Houston. We need you here now."

"But my daughter is waiting for me," Samuel replied unhappily.

"If you have nobody to look after her, we may ask someone to bring her here. She can stay in recreation room."

Samuel nodded and looked at his watch. It was midnight. Then he took his mobile phone out of his pocket to call Aurah. He hit the first number on his speed dial. -She'd already become the first and the most important person in his life.-

"Hello," Aurah answered the call, yawningly.

"How is it going, baby girl?" Samuel asked in a cheerful tone. Even one word from Aurah's beautiful voice was enough to raise Samuel's mood.

"Fine," she said. "Well, you're sort of late. Something happened?"

"Yes, indeed. I've got to stay for another night shift tonight. The other doctor is out of town." He heaved a sigh. "Would you ask Ben to give you a ride to the hospital?"

Aurah grinned. "No need for that. I can spend the night in here."

Samuel's hand which was holding the phone froze. He cleared his throat before he began to speak again:

"I'm sure Ben won't like this idea of yours. So, the smartest thing to do is get you either here, or to Mercy's place."

Aurah whiffed."Ben wouldn't mind, since he'd already fallen asleep while watching TV."

Ignoring what she said, Samuel continued: "I'm gonna send someone from the hospital to bring you here."

"I said NO," Aurah growled. "If you can't come home, I'll spend the night here. This conversation is over!" She hung up harshly without waiting for a reply from Samuel.

Samuel stood immobile in the middle of the corridor, looking at the phone which was shut off to his face. He walked slowly to emergencyroomin desperation. For the first time in his life, he felt like crying. Fortunately this feeling didn't last long -because he received a text message… from Aurah!

"_Dad, I'm sorry if I became mean towards you. I want you to know that I've never meant to be rude. If we show respect to each other's preferences, our relationship can get better. See you tomorrow morning. AURAH."_

Soon as he read the message, Samuel's face brightened with hope. _"She _called me_ 'Dad',"_ he bumbled happily. "Aurah called me '_Dad_'!" She might be a rebellious teenager, but she really cared!

Samuel's steps were speeded up automatically as he was trying hard to hold himself back from whistling and singing near to emergency room.

Aurah opened the door to Ben's room to check what he was doing. Ben had a small-screen television placed across his bed. When she opened the door and stood in the doorway, he suddenly took the remote and turned it off.

"What now?" He rubbed his sleepy eyes. "I did whatever you asked from me all day long. I took you to shopping and waited for three long hours while you were changing clothes. I took you to my favourite restaurant and waited on you for another long hour to finish your double-sized ice-cream… Can't you just leave me alone a bit? I have to go to work tomorrow. I need some rest."

Aurah raised an eyebrow with a tiny cunning smile upon her face. "Why did you turn off the TV when I came? Have you been watching porn?"

"What? No!" Ben jumped to his feet.

"I bet you have," Aurah said in with jarring voice in tone.

"Good Lord! What kind of a girl are you? Don't you have no shame?"

Aurah made a lip. "Why? You are not ashamed to watch it, but I should be ashamed to mention it, should I?"

Ben took his white t-shirt from the hanger and waved it like a flag in the air. "Okay, okay! You're right, I'm wrong. You're well-mannered,I'm shameless. You're a princess and I'm a miserable creature… What do you want now?"

"Samuel phoned to tell me that he would have to stay for a night shift at the hospital tonight."

Ben put his hand on his head and scratched his hair. "So, he won't be coming to pick you, hah?"

"Unfortunately." Aurah smoothly put her hands in her knee breeches' pockets.

"All right… Should I give you a lift to Mercy's or call someone to come get you?" Ben attempted to take his mobile phone out of the drawer.

"Neither!" Aurah gave a tiny smile. "I told _my dad _that I could stay here for the night. Now could you show me a bed that I can sleep on?"

Ben looked up at the ceiling, invoking God's pity and heaved a sigh: "You sleep on my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Deal," Aurah cheerfully said.

Ben opened the wardrobeand took a blanket and a pillow for himself. "By the way," he said in good earnest, "I was not watching porno. I was watching _The Mummy Returns!_"

"_The Mummy Returns_ of _Rachel Weisz_?"

"Yeah." Ben's smile yanked the corners of his mouth. "Another beautiful actress…"

Aurah turned to green with jealousy. "Another beautiful but _anorexic_ actress… I guess you have a type!"

Looking at her from tip to toe, Ben smiled sincerely. "Sweet Aurah, have you ever considered this possibility that you see other people as _anorexic,_ just because you're so chubby?"

Aurah frowned as she was looking for the sharpest response to give Ben a setting down. But she couldn't find anything to say. For the first time in her life, she came up against someone who was as witty as her.

That must have shown in her face- because Ben threw a satisfied look. "I have clean sheet in the wardrobe. Help yourself, baby girl," he said before he left the room.

Having been at her wits end, Aurah laid out the sheet on the bed. Then she laid herself down to sleep, still thinking of the young man who went to sleep in the living room…


	6. Chapter 6

**I guess this chapter has become a little bit longer than the previous ones. Because of the inspiration this video had given me, I wrote more than I usually do :)**

**I'd like to thank **_**Guys in My ****Head **_**for this beautiful trailer. It really reflects the spirit of the story. I hope you all like it as much as I do.**

www . dailymotion .com/video/xe6gtw_unthinkable_people

Having heard a cavernous lament in the depth of his sleep, Ben suddenly woke up and jumped to his feet as if someone had kicked him out of the bed. He looked at his watch. It was 5 a.m. The lament which was coming from the bathroom belonged to Aurah, undoubtedly. Ben put on his t-shirt and went to the bathroom to see what was going on. The door was locked. He held himself back and knocked the door rather gently before he might do something reckless.

"Aurah, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

No response.

"Aurah, what's going on in there? I heard you cry."

No response.

"Aurah, open the door!"

Still no response…

"Hey, don't make me crash the door!" Ben growled.

"Could you please leave me alone?" Aurah groused.

"Okay…" Ben rubbed his face with both hands to get out of his sleepy mood. "You've left me no choice. Keep away from the door! Otherwise you might get hurt!" He gave a warning before he razed it to the ground at one go.

The door was smashed into smithereens. He jumped over it to get to Aurah who crouched by the bathtub. Her arms were wrapped around her own belly. She seemed like having a terrible stomach ache.

"What's wrong?" Ben curiously asked, looking at Aurah's bitter face which had completely turned white.

"That's not something you can understand. I need some time and space to handle it on my own," Aurah said callously.

"If you deign to tell me what is going on, maybe I can decide whether I'll be helpful or not."

Aurah crumbled her belly harshly. "I have a griping pain. That's what is going on," she muttered.

When Ben drew near Aurah, he was suddenly frozen up by a scent his sensitive wolf nose caught. Sniffing the air nervously, he whispered:"Blood!"

Oh, uh!" Aurah raised her eyebrows. "I should have thought that you would catch that!"

"Bloody hell! You smell like a piece of bloody fresh meat. Did you get cut?"

"Sort of," Aurah answered innocently. Then she noticed that Ben's eyes had become bright wolf eyes. "Hey!" She yelled, trying to sound funny. "Don't ever consider _changing _now! I'm not strong enough to fight you right now."

Ben frowned. "You'll lose anyway if you try to fight me," he said smugly. "I guess we have to call Samuel!" He stood up. "You'd better see a doctor."

"No!" Aurah reached out and caught his arm before he could turn around to walk out. "Don't call him! I don't want him to know!" She paused for a moment, thinking desperately. "Could you bring my mobile phone? I'm going to call my mother."

Ben rushed into his bedroom to pick Aurah's phone. If there had been someone to clock, he would have taken his place in Guiness Records, breaking a speed record**. **

He had found the right number to hit, before he extended the Blackberry to Aurah. She was bewildered.

"Do you know how to use this?" She gave a tiny smile.

Ben curled his lip. "Are you kidding? Computers and cell phones are my proficiency."

Before Aurah could say something else, her mother picked up the phone:

"Baby, why are you awake at 5.15 in the morning?" Angelina asked.

"Mom," Aurah moaned.

"Aurah! You sound terrible. What happened?"

"Mom, I guess I'm having my first _period_ !"

After she had said that, she lifted her head up to see Ben's expression. But the only expression he had upon his face was a blank astonishment…

Being completely numb, Angelina Castle sighed. She looked for the right gentle words to settle her baby girl down.

"Baby, relax! It's a natural process. We've talked about it before, remember? I wish I were there to help you, but unfortunately I'm not. I think you should tell Samuel. He's a doctor. He knows what to do."

"Samuel is not here right now," Aurah replied.

"Where did he go?" Angelina's voice became tense.

Aurah shrugged. "He's on the night shift and hasn't made it back, yet."

"Are you all by yourself?" Angelina's teeth were almost creaked.

"No, a friend of Samuel's is looking after me."

"All right…" Angelina heaved a sigh of annoyance. "I think you're gonna have to _take nourishment_. Do you understand, baby?"

"Yes," Aurah whispered.

"Do you think _he_ can help you with that?"

Looking at Ben, Aurah swallowed. "I don't know. I'll ask."

"Maybe I should come to take you back to New York tomorrow," said Angelina.

"No, no!" Aurah objected in a flurry. "I'm good! I'll be just fine when I get rid of this unbearable griping pain in my belly."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure!" Aurah tried to sound as cheerful as she can to convince her mother.

"Okay. But, promise me that you'll talk to Samuel about your period when he comes back. Deal?"

"Deal," Aurah replied.

"I love you, baby."

"Love you, too mama. Say 'hi' to grandpa from me!" said Aurah before she hung up.

When she raised her hand to look at Ben who was standing in the doorway, she saw that the blank astonishment on his face hadn't vanished, yet.

After a minute passed in silence, Aurah began to laugh up her sleeve. "Ask!" She said to Ben.

"Ask what?" Ben murmured, studying the pieces of the crashed door scattered on the floor.

"You don't know what _period_ means, do you?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not sure" said Ben, Mr. Know-it-all, feeling embarrassed. "I mean, I've heard of it once or twice on TV, but I've never wondered what it really means."

Aurah coughed to clear her throat before she gave Ben a quick lecture on "female's anatomy":

"Well… Every girl has their menstrual period when they get to the puberty age. It's a sign that your childhood is over, and you're becoming a young woman now."

Ben blushed like a tomato when he finally predicted where this was going to.

Aurah continued calmly. "It goes like this; the waste blood in the womb gets thrown out of the body through the…"

"Okay! Say no more!" Ben yelled, raising his hand.

"All right…" Aurah bit her lip like a naughty child.

Ben was looking for a way to save himself from proceeding this shameless conversation any longer. Actually it had always been Ben's style to make such shameless talks. He'd never ashamed to use an epithet referring to female genitalia while talking about women… till now!

Lucky that his phone rang at that instant! Ben rushed out of the bathroom to take the call. "Samuel," he answered almost happily.

Samuel, wondering why Ben was happy to hear from him, coughed. "I'm almost finished in here. Tell Aurah that I'm coming to take her home."

"Great!" Ben said trying so hard not to sound so cheerful. "Aurah really needs you right now. You'd better be quick!"

"Something happened?" Samuel froze.

"Well, she says she's in period!" Ben whispered carefully. "She might be right. Everywhere smells like blood. It's driving me nuts!"

Samuel's eyes smoldered. "I'll be there in 20 minutes. Keep her warm. Don't do anything stupid!" He said and hung up all of a sudden.

Tossing his head, "Don't do anything stupid!" Ben muttered to himself, with an exaggeration of the drawl that Samuel's Welsh accent had.

Ben got back to the bathroom where Aurah was lying flat on the floor. Her chubby face had never looked so pale before.

Ben crouched and bobbed his head. "It's not good for you to lie on this cold marble pavement. Your dad says that you should be kept warm."

"I feel too weak to move my feet. Would you lift me up?" Aurah mildly asked.

"Okay," Ben sighed. He took Aurah into his lap carefully and lifted her up. "Let's bring you to the kitchen and feed you with chicken wings and chips as your mother requested. Or else…"

Before Ben got a chance to finish his word, Aurah clung to his shoulder and got her teeth into his skin, drawing blood. Ben was struck dumb. Somehow he managed to stand motionless and control his wolf until Aurah was finished. When Aurah tossed her head, half of her face was covered with Ben's blood.

"You are…" He was having difficulty to find the right word to define the young girl in his arms.

"Half vampire," Aurah helped him complete the puzzle.

"Bloody Hell! How could it be?"

"Long story," Aurah heaved a sigh. "My grandpa did some scientific tests on my mom, using vampire blood –without knowing that she was pregnant, of course. And here is the result!"

"Wait a minute! If you're a vampire, how come you are able to eat human food?"

Aurah rolled her eyes dramatically. "Benjamin, waking up so early has a bad effect on your brain, I think. I- am- not- a- vampire! I'm half human!"

"Whatever!" Ben grimaced. "I don't even wanna know!"

After he had placed Aurah on the bed, he swaddled her with a blanket. He was moving fast to get away from the irresistible scent of blood of her and of himself as soon as possible. Just when he was about to arise, thinking that Aurah was done with him, Aurah caught his arm once more.

"Stay here until Samuel arrives," she said smiling faintly.

Ben nodded. He curled up on the corner of the bed without looking at Aurah's direction. It was a few seconds later when he felt gentle finger twisting his hair.

"Your hair is so nice," Aurah said mildly with her sweetest voice. "Like golden."

Feeling somewhat afraid to meet her gaze, Ben kept looking away. He was at a loss as to what to say and what to do.

"I'm brunette," Aurah continued to break the ice, "How boring! Maybe I should dye my hair to red. What do you think?"

Ben swallowed. "I'm not much in favor of red hair," he mumbled.

"Was your mother red-head?" Aurah asked her question of the day, straight like an arrow.

It convulsed Ben's mind. He buried his head in the sheet without leaving one square centimeter to breathe like he wanted to choke himself. He was struggling hard not to expose what he had been collecting within himself through years. Aurah's hand which was caressing his hair stopped.

"I hate what she did to you!" She said vitally with an irascible voice in tone. "But… Ben, I would never ever do that. I know you wouldn't, either!"

Taking a deep breath, Ben finally found the courage to turn his head to look at Aurah's face which was looking much better now with pink cheeks and shiny eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ben asked desperately with a voice almost provoking pity.

Aurah leaned forward a little bit more and touched his face. But, when the door bell rang, she had to wake up from her _un-thinkable _dream.

Ben jumped to his feet and run through the corridor. When he opened the door, Samuel came inside in his lab coat. Ignoring Ben, he directly headed for the bedroom.

"How is she now?" He asked.

"She looks good," Ben accidentally said. Samuel suddenly turned and stared at Ben with fire in his eyes. As soon as Ben realized the blunder that he had made, he quickly hung his head and said "I… I mean she is good."

"Dad, I feel fine!" Aurah called out, having come to her feet already.

"I was freaked out!" Samuel heaved a sigh. He took her face between his hands and kissed her forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Aurah murmured. She took her back bag and put on her shoes, looking at Ben from the corner of her eyes.

Samuel shook hands with Ben. "Thanks for looking after her. I'm grateful for your help," he formally said.

While they were walking out the door, Samuel whispered in Aurah's ear: "Did he treat you nice?"

Aurah smiled. "Well, he was occasionally nice, but not so delicious," she said walking to the car, holding his father's hand.

The rain was drizzling. "Mmm… I love summer rain," Aurah murmured. Before she got in the car, she turned her head to right to look at Ben one more time. When she met the disappointed look upon his face, her smile widened even farther.

"Hey!" She called out to him with an excellent imitation of his nifty British accent. "Don't be so sad! _I was talking cannibalism, NOT romance!"_

Even long after Samuel drove his car away, Ben kept standing at the door with an open mouth, thinking of the last sentence Aurah had said to him. Because_ those_ were exactly the same words which he had once told Mercy as a joke…

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

**I enjoyed writing this chapter so much. I like writing mother-daughter conversations. I guess it's because I talk to my mother a lot. And such dialogues are real fun to write if these two get on well with each other.**

Samuel's House

After having a short phone call, Samuel slowly arose from his chair and went to Aurah's bed side.

"How are feeling now?" He asked, caressing her hair.

"This is the ninety ninth time you've asked this question today, dad," Aurah answered yawningly, stretching her arms and legs.

"You look better, I can say."

"I feel better." Aurah smiled. "Thanks for all the things you've done to make me feel better all day long; cooking, massaging,playing the guitar…"

"You're welcome!" Samuel replied happily.

"Dad," Aurah lowered her eyelids, "Can I visit Ben at his office tomorrow?"

Samuel frowned automatically. "Sweetie, maybe you should make friends with people of your age. People with better manners and without foul mouths…"

"Hmmm… And maybe you should dump that fae bitch and start begging my mom for taking you back!" Aurah groused good-naturedly.

"Her name is Ariana." Samuel sucked in a hard breath.

"Yeah, right." Aurah shrugged. "An unpretty, empty-headed version of my mother..."

"A girl as clever as you shouldn't be so you give her a chance, you'll see that she is nothing but kindness. You 've met her only once, and the only thing you said to her was callous a 'Hello'!"

"I don't care about her one bit," Aurah said sharply, rolling her eyes. "And if you ever propose her or something, I'll go back to New York and never call you back!"

Putting his hand on his head, Samuel whiffed desperately.

"Whatever," Aurah murmured. "I have the best mother in the whole world. That's what matters."

"Speaking of your mom, she just called!"

"Sure she did! What did she say?"

"She said she got so worried about you after the phone call you two had made this morning. Soon as she hung up, she bought her plane ticket to Washington. And she's on her way to Tri-Cities now."

Aurah sat up in her bed in a sudden manner with smoldered eyes. "What? Is she coming to take me back to New York?"

"Well, I guess that had been her plan until I strongly objected! I told her that you liked Tri-Cities and you're doing fine so far. She might change her mind, but she's coming anyway."

"It's okay." Aurah sighed. "I'll convince her."

"I bet you do!" Samuel laughed silently. He gave Aurah a big kiss on the forehead before he went out and closed the door behind him.

2 Hours Later

Aurah rushed forward even before the door bell rang. "Mom is here!"

"So, like a werewolf, a half-vampire knows who's coming before she answers the door, hah?" Samuel said with joy, following her.

"Don't underestimate my girl!" said Angelina, walking inside from the open door. She threw her luggage on the floor and took Aurah into her arms. She lifted her up so easily as if she was a feather.

"Oh, My God!" She laughed. "It's only been five days since you were gone, but it felt like ages to me. I missed you like crazy!" She said, flooding her daughter with sweet kisses.

"I'm glad you came, mom!" Aurah said vociferously, looking at Samuel from the corner of her eyes.

Samuel, feeling like marginalized, cut in: "Welcome to Tri-Cities, Angelina." He extended his hand to her.

"Thanks, Samuel," Angelina formally said as she leaned forward to shake his hand.

Aurah's gazes were going back and forth between her parents. Seemingly there was still a little chemistry which was might explode between them. More importantly, they had a mutual child!

"Shall I carry your luggage to the quest room?" Samuel asked.

"I'm gonna stay in Aurah's room tonight. I think we have things talk," Angelina replied, blinking her eye at Aurah.

"Okay." Samuel said, feeling kind of jealous. Just when he was about to break all the ice between her daughter and himself, Angelina showed up. And now, Aurah seemed to be ready to leave him on the shelf.

"Pillow talk! Yeah!" Aurah jumped. "Race you to my room, mom!"

"No flying!" Angelina called out behind her. "Gosh! She's full of beans! I haven't seen her like this for a while," she said to Samuel.

"I'm glad if I've become helpful with that," Samuel murmured. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I had my dinner before the plane landed."

"Mom! I'm waiting on you!" Aurah yelled from the upstairs.

"Good night, Samuel." Angelina said and went without letting him carry her luggage.

Aurah's room- 1 a.m.

Angelina put on her sleeping dress and laid herself next to Aurah.

"Mom, Samuel bought this house on the first day I came to Tri-Cities. Because I didn't want to stay in Alpha's palatial but crowded house," Aurah tittered.

"Lucky you!" Angelina twisted her hair jokingly.

"He's very thoughtful. I think I can love him."

Angelina held her tightly. "Hope you can, honey bee."

"But you're still number one. And you'll always be," Aurah said vociferously.

Angelina raised an eyebrow. "Are you being spiteful to Samuel right now?"

Aurah shrugged. "If he's jealous and in need of someone to hold, he may turn his direction to his fae girl friend."

"Aurah, babe," Angelina whispered, "Samuel and I are history. He can do whatever he wants. A wolf needs a mate. If his wolf has chosen that woman as his mate, it's not our concern."

"Whatever!" Aurah sounded like an offended child.

"We're gonna talk about this later," Angelina sighed, crumbling Aurah's arm. "Now, tell me about last night."

"As you know, I had my first period. I was sort of painful." Aurah made a lip.

"Obviously," Angelina laughed. "I can smell your blood right now. Well, I'm glad you've become a young woman now. So is your grandfather! He's always been so afraid that you might not be able to grow up properly because of his scientific experiments."

"Well… Mom, speaking of growing up, I have a new decision to discuss with you…"

Angelina's interest was aroused. "What is it?"

"You know, I've always been telling that I want stay as your _baby girl _forever -which is why I stopped aging."

Angelina nodded in agreement. "All right… Continue!"

"Well, on second thought, I think it's not always fun to be twelve years old forever." She bit her lip. "I mean I'm supposed to start my college education this year. Look at me! People will probably think that I have lack of growth hormone."

"I understand, babe. What am I supposed to say? It was your idea to stop aging. If you've changed your mind now, if you've decided that you are not happy this way, you can restart aging. I'll love you anyway. It doesn't matter for me either you're twelve or twenty. You would always be a small child in my eye even if you decided to get forty years old."

"Oh, I can't imagine to get older than you, mama," Aurah laughed. "Actually I'm thinking of making _every woman's dream_ come true; being frozen at eighteen. What do you think?"

"Hmmm," Angelina cracked a smile. "Neither junior, nor adult… I liked this idea!" Then she raised an eyebrow and looked her daughter straight in the eye. "Does the boy whose house you stayed last night have got anything to do with this?"

Aurah swallowed. "What's he got to do with this?" She attempted to smile but she failed.

"Aurah, you haven't told me, yet how you managed to take nourishment last night. How did he find blood for you?"

"Well, he didn't _find, _actually. He _provided."_

"Did you…" Angelina's eyes widened open. "Did you feed yourself on him?"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

Angelina frowned. She looked away for a minute. Then she jerked her chin back up, so her eyes met Aurah again.

"You had never done that before. I wonder what made you lose control… Did his blood appeal to you so much?"

"No, not indeed…" Aurah made a lip. "He smelled nice, -not like a piece of chocolate cake, I mean, but like a person who smells like perfume, you know."

"That's interesting," Angelina mumbled with a tiny smile. "How did he react after that?"

"He naturally got shocked. However, he handled it well. He stood immobile until I was finished. I don't think that he got physicallyor psychologically hurt." Aurah paused for a moment and then her eyes shined like she remembered something important. "When I drank his blood, I saw some part of his memory, some things from his past!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know if I should give you the details, since his secrets are his to reveal. All I can say is; he had some unpleasant time during his childhood and he was exiled from his hometown, London, having been blamed for something he hadn't done…"

As Aurah spoke, Angelina noticed a different tone in her voice which made her smile yank the corners of her mouth.

"Aurah, do you like this boy? She asked directly.

"What?" Aurah's face suddenly blushed. "Mom, please!"

"You usually shrug regardlessly when I ask you such questions about boys. Why have you reacted like this now? I am asking a simple question, Aurah; do you like the boy or not?

Aurah buried her face into the pillow. "I think I've had a little crush on him!"

"I kind of figured." Angelina smiled. "Okay. So, tell me some about him, things like how old he is, what he looks like, what he does for a living…"

"Hmm…" Aurah raised her head from the pillow. "He's around twenty, I'm guessing... And he's slim. I mean, not as tall as Samuel, but over average. He's said to be a computer genius -or a computer nerd in Warren's words."

"Is he dark?"

"Platinum blond!" Aurah grinned.

"Oh! I guess we, Castle ladies, have a common type for boys," Angelina said heaving a sigh.

Tossing her head, Aurah laughed silently. Her mother was so right. Aurah's grandfather was blond, Samuel was blond, and now another Blondie was waiting in line to be the love interest of the youngest Castle.

"You mentioned of London…" Angelina said, "Is he English?"

"Yes, he is. He was exiled from London pack as a result of some unfortunate events." Aurah made a lip.

Angelina froze with the bomb shell. "London Pack?" She yelled. "Is he a werewolf ?"

"Ouch!" Aurah pulled the blanket over her face…


	8. Chapter 8

**I know I haven't updated for days, cause I'm on vacation right now, enjoying the inspiring ****M****editerranean sea ****:) Hope you all have a good summer time! ( Although I'm missing winter :) )**

**1 Week Later**

Ben stared at the empty bottle of beer in front of him. He was thinking of the things he had went through before he came to Washington. His miserable childhood with his mother... How he was blamed for the murders in London... How he became bitter when he was forced to move from London.

But now there was something else in his mind. Something which made him want to forget about everything he had experienced before... Something that could take all sadness away... It was Aurah's witty words with her velvet voice that he couldn't help thinking of!

"This is wrong," he muttered to himself. "This is sick! She's only twelve!" He creaked his teeth irascibly.

He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the fridge where he took another bottle of beer. It wasn't his habit to drink in the mornings. Especially on Sunday morning!

Just he was about to open the bottle, his cell phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket and he froze! It was Samuel calling! Was it another favour time? Was he going to ask him take care of Aurah again? The smile yanked the corners of Ben's mouth automatically.

"Hello?" He picked up.

"Hello, arrogant Brit!" A naughty voice came from the otherside of the line.

"A... Aurah?" Ben stuttered.

"None other!" She yelled.

_What's happening to me? Why am I getting excited to get a call from a twelve-year-old girl? _Ben thought. He tried to assume on a serious air:

"What do you want?"

Aurah laughed silently. "You've become even more polite since I last saw you."

Ben heaved a sigh. "Aurah, what is it that you want?"

"I missed you."

Ben paused. The only sound was his heartbeat which Aurah could hear very well. That's why she continued with self-confidence.

"Samuel was called from the hospital. An emergency occured. Which means I'm all by myself. I thought we could meet somewhere, see a movie or just wander around..."

"I don't think so."

"Why?"

"I'm busy today."_ He lied._

"Stop lying Benjamin!" Aurah growled.

"Why don't you hang out with friends of your age? Like Jesse, maybe?"

"First; Jesse is _technically_ not my age." Aurah replied smugly. "Second; she hasn't made it back yet from her mother's city. Third; I have enough of friends in hometown, New York. And I only make friends with people I'm interested in."

"Thanks, I'm very flattered," Ben groused.

"You should be!" After a short pause, she said; "I'm getting dressed now. Meet me at the mall in fiftteen minutes. And Benjamin, don't make me wait!"

"Aurah..." But before Ben could say another word, Aurah hung up.

"Crazy little bitch!" Ben groused under his teeth as he put his phone back into his pocket.

He turned around to meet his reflection in the hall mirror where he put on his tie everyday before he left for work. His eyes were shiny. His cheeks were all pink. _Wo am I fooling?_ He sucked in a deep breath._ I missed her, too!_

And he found the perfect excuse to releave himself. If he didn't go meet her now, she would be all by herself on the streets where drifters are hanging around. He changed his shirt and put his new jeans on. Just before he left, he suddenly turned around and took a tiny little bottle out of the drawer. A bottle of perfume that he'd never used before... Now he was not only looking good, but also smelling good...

**At the Mall**

Ben had driven at the speed of light to arrive there before Aurah. So, he had to wait for five minutes at the entrance before Aurah came with her red dress and converse shoes. Was she looking taller than she was a week before?

"Hi there!" Aurah waved her hand happily.

"Hi," Ben murmured.

"Thanks for coming!"

"Like I had a choice!" Ben couldn't help but laugh.

Aurah smiled. "Shall we eat something? I'm starving _like a wolf_."

"Sure."

Ben bought two XL chicken menu from Burger King. Aurah was way faster than Ben at eating! She finished her meal first. Ben slowly raised his head and examined her.

"You look different," he said.

Aurah raised her eyebrows. "In terms of what?"

"Could you stand up for one second?"

Aurah pushed her chair back and came to her feet.

Ben was bewildered. "I thought I was confused when I saw you walking towards me. But I've become sure now. You're taller than before!"

Aurah sat back to her chair grinning. "I played some basketball this week. Seemingly it worked out very well."

"And your face looks a little bit different." Ben frowned.

"Is it better or worse?" Aurah lowered her eyelids.

Ben blushed. "Just different..."

"Why are you trying so hard to hold aloof? I saw that you're pretty comfortable with Warren and Mercy and even with your Alpha. But when it comes to me, you're acting like you're sitting on a time bomb!I don't know why."

"Aurah," Ben muttered, sucking in hard breath, "You stand so close to me. It bewilders me. No, it knocks me!" He put his hand on his forehead. "And when you act like that, I feel myself like a..."

"Pedophile?"

Ben immediately looked away like he was haunted by some of his unpleasent memories. He didn't say anything.

Ben?" Aurah leaned forward and took his hand. "You're not a pedophile. Cause you're NOT that kind of person. You may be sexist, arrogant and noisy, but you CAN'T be a real pyscho!" She paused for a moment and smiled. "A bad guy would never bother to save a cat from an exploding trailer coach by throwing himself into the flames!"

Ben was struck dumb. When he collected himself, he managed to ask; "Who told you this?"

"Warren and I had some chat last Thursday when he stopped by. He told me about what had happened to Mercy's ex trailer coach. That poor cat could have been piecrust if you hadn't jumped inside there following Adam."

Ben blushed to the roots of his hair. Aurah cracked a bigger smile and decided to change the subject:

"So... Which movie are we gonna watch now? I'm interested in SALT."

"As you wish." Ben bowed his head quizzically.

They came to their feet and walked side by side to the film theather...

At the Hospital 

"I hate traffic accidents," Samuel said to the head nursein the hallwhile he was walking to his doctor office.** "**Fortunately, it all went well. Some suturing and some dressing for the wounds..."

"I'm glad to hear that," Melinda, the head nurse, answered without raising her head from the paperworks.

When Samuel walked inside her office and checked out his cell phone, he found two missed calls from Angelina, Aurah's mother. He immediately called her back.

"I was working, sorry. Is everything all right?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." Angelina's voice was tense. "I talked to Aurah on my videophone this morning. She looked a little bit different to me. Didn't you notice?"

"Well, I can't say I didn't," Samuel answered. "She got taller in one week. I was planning to talk to you about that, actually."

"I guess she has started growing now. That's what occurs to me."

"How could it be?"

"Samuel, the main question should be _WHY, _rather than how!" Angelina said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! I just cameback home from a nice vacation. I'd like to thank everyone who read and review my story. You're so kind.**

Chapter 9

The loud music passed through the corridor and outspreaded Samuel's bedroom. Samuel bounced on his bed like he had sleep apnea syndrome! Then he came to his feet at one leap.

Aurah was singing out loud inside her room:

_I've got the moves baby, you got the motion  
If we got together we'd be causing a commotion  
I've got the moves baby, you got the motion  
If we got together we'd be causing a commotion_

_You met your match when you met me_  
_I know that you will disagree it's crazy_  
_But opposites attract you'll see_  
_And I won't let you get away so easy_

_The love you save may be your own_  
_Can't fight this feeling, aren't you tired of being alone_  
_You won't admit it but you know it's true_  
_It's not a secret how I feel when I stand next to you_

_I've got the moves baby, you got the motion  
If we got together we'd be causing a commotion  
I've got the moves baby, you got the motion  
If we got together we'd be causing a commotion!_

Samuel knocked the door:

"Aurah, could you please turn it down a little bit? It's only 7 a.m.!"

"SORRY, I CAN'T!" Aurah yelled.

"But it's too loud!" Samuel yelled back.

"IF MY MUSIC IS TOO LOUD, THEN YOU'RE TOO OLD!"

Samuel was struck dumb. He looked for a good response to give.

"No problem for me… But, our neighbors might come to complain if you keep on listening this loud!"

No response…

Samuel heaved a sigh. "If you don't turn it down now, I'm gonna call Ariana and invite her for breakfast. And I'm sure that she'd gladly look after you when I'm at the hospital."

Portable CD player suddenly stopped! Aurah opened the door to her room and stood at the doorstep with a "pussy cat" look upon her face.

Crossing her arms, she said; "No Ariana!"

Samuel grinned. "Okay. Well… Since we've woken up, we may have our breakfast now."

Aurah raised her arms. "I'll make the tea!" She slid from the railing and run to the kitchen.

Samuel turned on TV as a regular habit and switched to an international news channel. Just as Aurah took the remote to switch to a music channel, the breaking news aroused her attention. She sat cross-legged on the floor and began to listen.

"_More than two years after three women were raped and killed in central London, another murder incident happened last night._

_Surrey Police __has launched a murder investigation after the body of a woman was found in Claygate._

_Her body was found by police officers who were called to a home in Claygate, just after 11 p.m. yesterday._

_A Surrey Police spokesman said a postmortem had carried out at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford to find out how she died. _

_She seemed to have died the same way other three women were killed before._

_Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to contact with them.__"_

Aurah was watching as pop eyed and breathless. Samuel came to her side and crouched.

"I've never known that you follow up murder cases," he said.

"I usually don't," Aurah replied with a distant look on TV. "But this one is different.

"In what aspects?" Samuel couldn't seem to realize that this was the case which Ben had been taken into custody before he was exiled from London by his ex Alpha.

"Oops! I forgot to wash my face!" Aurah jumped to her feet and run up the stairs before Samuel could ask anything else.

She went into her room to take her cell phone. Then she went to the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, she let the tap water run for her voice not to be heard by Samuel. She hit a number on her speed dial list.

"Aurah, baby, how are you doing?" A sweet voice of an old man spoke.

"I'm doing fine, grandpa. Thanks. How are you?"

"I'm fine except I'm missing you so much!"

"Grandpa, I need a favor. It must between only you and me!"

"Whatever you want, baby girl… But, you know I'm not good at keeping secrets from Angelina."

"Grandpa, please! Especially she shouldn't know, yet. If she and Samuel find out what I intend to do, they would never let me."

"Okay. Shoot it!"

"We must go to London. Just you and me…"

Richard was bewildered. After a short pause, "Why?" he asked.

"Grandpa, is your PC on right now? If so, go to Google and search for breaking news about serial rape/murder incidents in London."

"Yes, indeed." Richard's bewilderment was doubled. He did what Aurah asked for. The results were before his eyes.

"Hmm… Seemingly, a woman was slayed last night. And the police think this might be connected to a former serial rape/murder incident. That's too nasty, Aurah. Why are you following such bad news?"

"Grandpa, do you remember once you've told me that some people cast the blame on you for something you hadn't done when you were working in a genetic laboratory?"

Richard assumed on a serious air. "Yes. Continue," he said.

"If you knew that a friend of yours had an experience like yours before, and you had a chance to find out the truth, would you do that for him?"

"Of course, I would," Richard Castle replied without hesitation.

"That's why I wanna go to London, grandpa. You know we can find the real murderer!"

Richard heaved a sigh. "I'd better start thinking of a good excuse to give Angelina and Samuel for taking you to an oversea trip."

"I'll check out on the internet if there's a George Michael concert in UK recently. Then, we can tell'em that we are going to watch that show," Aurah said.

"Great idea!" Richard laughed.

"You talk to mom, I'll talk to Samuel, okay? I'll be waiting for your call."

"Okay," Richard said. Just before he was about to say "goodbye" and hang up, he suddenly remembered to ask the missing part in the plan.

"Aurah?"

"Yes, grandpa?"

"Who's that _friend _whom you are so willing to help?"

"Uhh, oh, Samuel is calling out to me! I have to hang up!"

"Aurah?"

"See you, grandpa!"

**(Soundtrack: "Causing A Commotion" - Madonna)**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'd like to thank my most devoted readers; RiTU and GUYS iN MY HEAD. Your reviews have made my days and gave me courage to write some more :)**

**(Soundtrack: **_"Radar" – Britney Spears_**)**

"London, here I come!" Aurah muttered to herself as she looked out of the window of British Airlines' business class.

From the adjoining seat, Richard leaned forward to see the ground.

"There is the London Bridge. Have you seen?" He pointed a finger.

"Beautiful," said Aurah, watching the impressive scene in bird's eye view.

"I can take you to Madam Tussauds and Greenwich if you please." He caressed his grandchild's hair.

"We'll do what we gotta do, first!" Aurah said with stability."If we have some time left by then, we may go see a place or two."

"Understood!" Richard laughed up his sleeve, thinking how his grandchild is similar to him in character. Once she's made up her mind, nothing can hold her back from what she wants to do.

After the plane had landed safe and sound, Richard and Aurah hit the road to _Residence Inn_ where Richard had booked a room for two beforehand.

The hotel was one of the most luxury ones in central London. The room was as big as a studio apartment. Aurah threw her back bag to the floor and threw herself on the bed.

Richard laughed silently. "Jet lag, baby girl?"

"I guess so." Aurah yawned.

Richard took his mobile phone out of his hand bag. "We'd better call Angelina before she calls to yell at us."

"Is she still mad?" Aurah bit her lip.

"I hope she's not!" Richard heaved a sigh as he hit the button on his mobile.

After the third ring, the call was taken.

"Dad," Angelina spoke with a callous voice in tone.

"I just called to say that we arrived to the hotel. And everything is fine."

"For now!" She replied sharply. The phone made a creaking sound.

"My Angel, this is just a happy grandpa & grandchild vacation. After we watch _George Michael_, Aurah's favourite male singer, on Saturday night, we're both coming to New York. Why are you acting like it's such a big deal?"

"Because I feel that you two are after something else. I'm not stupid!"

Aurah came to her feet. She caught Richard's eye and mouthed "give me the phone."

Richard waved the phone at Aurah and listened attentively to this interesting mother'n daughter conversation.

Aurah spent long 10 minutes on the phone to convince her mother that the only reason why they came to London was to see a _George Michael_ concert. Although Angelina's feelings were so strong, she was unable to find a valid reason for them to go to London. She had spoken – argued- with Samuel on the phone about this yesterday. Samuel was becoming way too naive when it came to Aurah. She had an incredible talent to persuade Samuel. But for Angelina…She had to work a little harder.

Angelina finally gave up and said "Have fun at the concert!" even though she still felt that something was going on.

After Aurah had hung up, Richard's smile yanked the corners of his mouth.

"I'm afraid, we're gonna get in trouble when we go back!" He said.

Aurah shrugged. "I don't care."

Richard's eyebrows flew up. "Since when have you stopped scaring of your mom?"

"I'm still kind of scared of her. But I'm not going back before I find the real murderer!"

Richard sat next to Aurah on corner of the bed. He put his hand on hers.

"Baby girl, you haven't told me, yet about this _friend of yours _whom we traveled 12 hours to purge," he said mildly.

Just when Aurah opened her mouth to speak, the door was knocked:

"Room service!" A young man spoke from the outside.

Richard opened the door, let the bell boy in to serve the lunch and gave him gratuities before he left the room.

"Mmm… These smell so good," Aurah said, smacking her lips.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Better than blood?"

Aurah blushed. Did he know? Angelina might have told Richard about _the night _Aurah had spent in Ben's house?

Richard examined her face and grinned. "You're frozen? You have no response to that?"

Aurah tried to play the fool. "I didn't understand what you mean."

Richard took a sip from the tea. "Baby girl, did you know that you're not persuasive one bit when you try to look like a fool?"

Aurah paused.

Richard put his forefinger under her chin. "Hey, don't make a face! I'm your grandfather. I'll never judge you!"

Aurah leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"His name is Ben," she said after they'd been eating for a few minutes. "I first met him in local Alpha's house. He was arrogant and rebellious… You know I'd like to mess with such people until I make them cry!"

Richard burst out laughing. He took the napkin to cover his mouth. "I know you would! Okay. Then?"

"Then one night, Samuel got an emergency call from the hospital. And I was commended to Ben's care."

"Since your father trusted him with you, he must be relying on him very much."

Aurah's face blushed like a tomato once again. She knew, if she lied, Richard would read it on her face easily… He and Angelina are the only people whom she's unable to cheat.

"Sort of," she murmured.

Richard frowned. "Aurah, details, please!"

"Well… Samuel wanted to call his bitch,"

"AURAH!"

"Okay okay!" Aurah rolled her eyes. "Samuel wanted to call his _girlfriend_ for help, but I said "No!" And I didn't want to stay in Alpha's house, either. Therefore, Samuel was a little bit desperate."

"And he had to accept your will…"

"Yes." Aurah continued after she'd taken a bit from her fish. "I had my first menstrual period there. I lost blood and I _borrowed _some of his blood. He didn't get mad. He almost cooperated with me."

"Sounds like you escaped lightly! Werewolves go insane in such cases."

Aurah's head was raised automatically. Her eyes smoldered. "Grandpa, I didn't yet mention that he was a werewolf!"

Richard coughed. "Well, you mom already did!"

"I knew it!" Aurah laughed.

"Because you drank his blood, you felt guilty and decided to do him a favor, did you?"

"Not exactly!"

Richard waited for Aurah to tell more. But all she did was study her half-empty plate.

"Aurah, do you have feelings for him?"

"I don't know," she replied without looking him in the eye. "He's just…something else!"

Richard extended her hand and caressed her hair. "Baby girl, don't get me wrong, but werewolves and vampires are no good match."

Aurah gave a bitter smile. "Since I've drunk my first blood, am I officially a vampire now? She asked, trying to sound funny.

"Officially!" Richard cracked a smile.

"Grandpa, when I drank from him, I saw some parts of his past. I saw that he had been blamed for those murders in London. But he was innocent!"

At that instant, a text message was received in Richard's mobile phone. When he read it, his face enlightened.

"Good news?" Aurah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes!" Richard smiled. "I was searching for the phone number of London pack's Alpha. Thanks to my old cronies, I've got it now!"

"That's great!"

"I'm going to call him to request an audience," said Richard and dialed his number to speak.


	11. Chapter 11

**(****Soundtrack:**_** "Let Your Head Go" - Victoria Beckham)**_

Aurah and Richard walked through the corridor to reach the room where they were supposed to meet the Alpha of London pack, David Irons.

When Aurah suddenly grabbed her grandpa's hand, Richard bowed his head and gave her a stunned look.

"I won't believe it if you say that you're scared," he whispered to her.

"Of course I'm not," Aurah smugly replied as she took another deep breath to keep a stiff upper lip.

She wasn't afraid of werewolves, not even Samuel who was the third strongest werewolf of the world. However, she was concerned deeply. Would she be able to identify the real murderer?

According to a fae whom she met when she was 7, Aurah was a soul reader. She was one of the few people who could see the headlights of a person's past.

A soul reader usually does that by looking into their eyes. Aurah's way was a bit different. Drinking blood… Before Ben, she never drank another living person's blood. Richard once brought her some from the blood bank when she felt sick. But that doesn't count, does it?

Some of the pack were inside the room, probably just in case. Cause Aurah was a half-vampire. And they must have known that half-vampires were superior. Richard was surprised to see that. Aurah was just a child and he never thought that she could be equal to a werewolf. Seemingly, David Irons was thinking that she might be… Therefore 2 other werewolves were inside the room to guard their Alpha.

"Welcome to Great Britain," said David as he came to his feet and extended his hand to Richard.

"Thank you for having us here." Richard shook his hand.

David's eyes slipped to Aurah who was holding her grandfather's hand tightly. Before they arrived, Aurah had been told time and time again that she shouldn't look into an Alpha's eyes for more than two seconds. So, she hung her head unwillingly.

"This is my grandchild, Aurah Castle." Richard introduced her.

David eyes smoldered. "A vampire?" He asked with his nifty British accent. His voice was different than Ben's in tone, but the accent was the same.

"Half-vampire!" Aurah corrected him.

Richard had looked anxiously between Aurah and David until David's face softened.

"This is an extraordinary situation!"

"Extraordinary is my middle name." Aurah smiled winsomely.

"Take a seat, please!" David pointed at the couch with his hand.

The door swung open and a young woman with a tray in her hand walked in. She served the tea cups and left the room without saying a word.

After David took a sip of his tea, he asked; "How can I help you, Mr. Castle?"

"We're here to investigate a murder case.

"Are you a cop?" David raised an eyebrow as he took another sip of his tea.

Richard coughed. "No. I'm a scientist."

"So, why are interested in a chain of murders committed in London?"

Aurah cut in. "Because we think that these murders are committed by a werewolf."

David blew his cool. He put his tea cup on the table harshly.

"Are you telling me that a member of my pack is a psycho killer?"

"I hope not," Richard mumbled.

Aurah kept pressing him. "Why are you so surprised? Didn't you exile a member of your pack a couple of years ago for this matter?"

David grimaced. "You mean Ben, don't you?"

"Yes." Aurah frowned.

"Well, guilty or not, he was a trouble-maker," He said impassively.

"And you got rid of him?" Aurah tried hard not to grouse.

Richard put his arm around her shoulder as a warning. She paused before she became rude.

"Mr. Irons, I think I know why you are concerned. If the murderer is a werewolf, there will be a scandal in the whole werewolf society. And you'll be faced with prejudiced people and anti-werewolf communities. That's why you are not okay with goingfurther into the question."

David Irons listened to this elder man quietly. Richard continued as soon as he became positive that David wasn't angry.

"We have to stop it. Four women have been killed so far. And, if we don't do something about it, more women are going to be killed! I have a daughter and I have grandchild. I can't pretend like nothing's going wrong here."

"I understand your point." David looked away. "What are you planning to do about it?"

Richard looked at Aurah. "My grand child has a special talent; she's a soul reader. She can identify the murderer."

David was bewildered. He'd examined Aurah in detail for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I've heard about soul readers before, but I've never thought they do exist."

"Here is one of them!" Richard caressed his granddaughter's hair.

David met Aurah's gaze. She didn't bow her head this time. "What do you have to do, kid? Look into the eye?" He asked her.

"No, sir," Aurah said mildly. "In order to read someone's soul, I have to drink their blood."

"What the hell – " David stopped himself from cursing. "No way!"

"Mr. Irons, I know. What we are asking from you is not easy. But please think about it. Do you want to keep on living in a city where women are repeatedly being raped and killed?" Richard asked.

After a long pause, David collected himself and spoke:

"Please, be our guests tonight. Tomorrow, I'll summon all members of my pack. I hope Ms. Castle finds the murderer if he's one of us."

Richard and Aurah stood up. Richard shook hands with David. "Thanks for your kindness, but we're staying at Residence Inn. We'll be waiting for your call tomorrow."

"Harry," David said to his Beta. "Please, guard Mr. and Ms. Castle to their hotel."

"No need for that. Thank you," Richard replied.

"Good evening," David greeted them.

Richard and Aurah followed Harry to the front door of the house. Before they left the room, Aurah turned her head around and took one last look at London pack's Alpha who was nervous about what was going to happen tomorrow…


	12. Chapter 12

_(__**Soundtrack:**__ "Predator" (Collide Remix) – Front Line Assembly) _

It was dark. Ben could see clearly, though. Darkness never really mattered to his eyes since the day he had become a werewolf. He was hanging around Claygate like he usually did whenever he fell out of sleep. The night air was keeping his head clear, in his own words. He stood at the corner, leaning against the wall.

Winter in London, freezing cold and foggy as usual… A cop car approached. The lights played through the thick fog. Two homicide detectives got out of the car, walked towards him. One of them was tall; the other was shorter and fat.

After they examined this nasty, violent, young man for a moment, the tall one came one step closer.

"I'm Detective Rush, this is Detective Murray." They both flashed their badges. We're from London Police Department. We'd like to speak with you, young man."

Ben put his hands in his pockets and frowned. "What do you want?"

"Do you know Mrs. Kate Birmingham?"

Ben was surprised. Because this _female_ name was quite familiar to his _misogynist_ ears.

"Yes. She's a housekeeper. She cleans my apartment from time to time when I'm at work," he callously replied. "If she's the same bitch that you're talking about," he added.

Detective Rush showed him a passport photo. "Is this her?"

Ben nodded.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Two weeks ago. Why?"

"She was found dead this morning." The fat detective, Murray, spoke.

Ben froze. He could be rude and arrogant, but he had feelings, too. "How did she die?"

"She was murdered."

Ben rolled his eyes dramatically. "Really? Maybe that's why you're from homicide department."

Two detectives glanced at each other in bewilderment.

Rush spoke again. "She was raped and slaughtered."

Ben grimaced. He opened his mouth to speak, but no word came out of his firm mouth.

"Listen, boy, shall we do this downtown if you please?" Rush asked.

Ben frowned again. "Look, I don't know anything about her. She was just a housekeeper to me. I was neither dating nor fucking her! I don't think I can help you with your investigation."

"We'll see about that!" Murray cut in. "We'd like you to come downtown with us and answer some questions. Don't be stubborn, boy! Don't make me arrest you!"

Ben seemed to have no choice but to follow them. In the car, they sat in front, he sat in the back.

"You have the right to an attorney," Rush said to Ben, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

"Attorney is for wealthy jerks. I have nothing…" Ben replied, staring out of the window. "Nothing to do with this case," he added under his teeth.

The fog was heavy. It was raining heavily.

"It's after midnight, raining cats and dogs and we're still working our tails off, Gary!" Murray said to his partner.

Ben closed his eyes a beat and then, still staring out, he gave a thin smile. They saw it, too, and glanced at each other…

**INTO THE POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM- 3 a.m**

It was small, fluorescent-lighted. Ben walked in with Rush and Murray. A young officer was waiting outside.

Both detectives kept their eyes on Ben. He sat down and they sat directly across from him. Even though he was nervous, he was in complete command of himself.

Rush spoke first: "Ben, would you tell us the nature of your relationship with Mrs. Birmingham?

"Like I said before, she worked for me as a housekeeper twice or three times," he replied as he looked from one man to the other as he spoke.

"Did you have feelings for her, Ben? Did you ever ask her out?"

"Holy swearing cuss! I've never been into married bitches."

"How did you know that she was married?" Rush raised an eyebrow.

Ben stared at him, expressionless; "Because you've been calling her _'Mrs' _for the last one hour. I don't have to be a genius to know that."

Detective Rush suddenly felt like stupid. Murray carried on:

"Do you always call women 'bitches' or 'whores', Ben?"

Ben paused. They waited for a response, but he remained silent.

"Where were you last night?"

"I was patrolling around my Alp-" Fortunately, he managed to pause before he blundered. He almost forgot that werewolves hadn't become public, yet!

He cleared his throat before he corrected his last sentence. "I was patrolling around the house of _my boss_."

"Patrolling for what?"

"For… uh… protecting his house and car from thieves."

"Alright." Rush curled a lip. "Can he come to testify on your behalf? Write his name and number. We'll call him." He put a piece of paper in front of Ben.

After Ben had written the name and the number, Rush took the paper and read it out loud. "David Irons… Hmm, this name sounds familiar."

David Irons, the Alpha of London pack, had always been a well-known man in central London even before the werewolf society became public. He was a rich and womanizer man.

Rush came to his feet, opened the door and extended the paper to the officer who was waiting by the door.

Then he sat back on his chair. Crossing his arms, he assumed on a serious air.

"Do you do drugs, Ben?"

"What? Hell, no!" Ben looked directly at him.

Murray opened up a folder and looked at some written documents. "You seem like a smart boy. You've got a degree in computer science."

"Yeah, I have, I suppose." Ben scratched his hair smugly. "You want to study my computer records in detail, don't you?"

Murray glanced at his partner for one second. Then he had his eyes on Ben again. "How do you know about that?"

"I'm just guessing." Ben shrugged.

"Did you kill Mrs. Birmingham?" Murray suddenly raised his voice.

"You're bloody out of your mind! I haven't seen her for two weeks!" Ben yelled back at him.

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to keep you in here until your boss comes to verify your statement." The detectives stood up to leave the room.

Ben lost his mind and started howling; "I did not kill that bitch! I didn't fuck her, either! I didn't touch her hair or her hand. Okay? It's not me who did that to her!"

"Take him to jail. He's going to wait there." Rush ordered to the young officer.

"It's not me who did that!"

"IT'S NOT ME WHO DID THAT!"

Ben jumped out of the bed with shock and horror. After he wiped the sweat drops upon his forehead, he looked at the clock by his bedside. It was 3 a.m. He rushed into the bathroom to wash his face. After two long minutes passed, he managed to collect himself.

"Just a nightmare," he muttered to himself. "A fucking nightmare!"

He took his cell phone and dialed a number.

_The person you have called cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later…_

"Damn it!" He threw the phone on the floor.

"Where the cuss are you, Aurah?"


	13. Chapter 13

A white jeep came to a stop in front of the police station. The door slid open and a young woman jumped from the driver's seat just in time to see Matthew being escorted to a squad car.

She watched as the car's door opened and Matthew was led out by a couple of police officers. He was handcuffed. The whole investigation had been conducted confidentially. So, no reporter was yet informed that the serial killer was caught!

When she turned to right, she saw Aurah moving quickly to the car which was laid up for her and her grandfather.

"Excuse me!" She called out to Aurah.

Aurah looked up to see the woman rushing her.

"Hi, I'm Megan. Do you remember me?" She asked winsomely.

Aurah made a face. "Of course I do. I tasted your blood three days ago."

"Yes, you did, didn't you?" Megan grinned. "Was that Matthew, they took away?"

"Yes, he was." Aurah hopped in the car, ignoring her.

"So, it's over, huh?"

"Yes, it's finally over." Aurah nodded.

Suddenly, Megan spinned around to see Richard Castle, standing, smiling at her. Their eyes met in a warm familiar stare.

"Dr. Castle," Megan greeted him politely.

"Hello, Megan. Are you keeping an eye on Aurah?" He jokingly said.

Megan smiled. "Well, actually I came to thank her for everything she did for us. She was so brave and did a great job. We're truly grateful." Then she looked back at Richard. Her smile widened. "And also I'd like to know the result of the DNA test."

"The samples were matched!" Richard's face brightened. "Aurah was one hundred percent right to point the finger at Matthew. We have hard proof now!"

"Wow! You're so fast, Dr. Castle."

"Normally, it takes a month to get the result from a DNA test, but I have my own special methods," Richard said with a self-confident voice in tone.

Aurah couldn't hold herself back anymore and talked:

"Where is your mate, Megan?"

Being sort of bewildered, Megan answered: "He's waiting for his turn to testify, just like the rest of the pack."

Aurah turned her to her grandfather. "Can we go if you're done in here? I feel tired."

"I think I'm done in here, baby girl. Let's go get some rest." He turned his direction towards Megan once more before he jumped into the driver's seat. "Good night, Megan. Say 'hi' to Carl from me."

Carl was David's third-in-command in the pack and also Megan's mate.

"Good night, Dr. Castle." She bent down a bit and waved at Aurah. "Good night, Aurah. Hope I'll see you again."

Richard drove away while Aurah said "I hope not." under her teeth.

On the way to the hotel, Aurah's weird silence started bothering Richard. When they stopped at a red light, he turned his direction to her and held her hand.

"What's your problem? You got what you wanted. You found the real murderer. Ben's name has been purged of the charge. You should be happy!"

"I'm happy," Aurah muttered.

"Then what's this sulky face for? He put one hand under her chin. "And why don't you have much enthusiasm for talking to Megan? She's nothing but kindness."

Aurah opened the side window a bit and let the fresh night air fill in her lugs.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Has this anything to do with Ben? Is she his ex-girlfriend or something?"

Aurah bit her lip. "Sort of."

"Hmm... I smell some jealousy." Richard laughed silently.

"I'm not jealous of a female dog!" Aurah shrugged. "Besides, nothing happened between them. Ben was interested in her. But she was a high flyer. That's why she chose Carl. If Ben had been the Beta or the third-in-command, she would have chosen Ben."

"An interesting theory," Richard mumbled.

"I'm speaking the truth," Aurah smugly said. "Some women are just into power."

"You must be thankful that she decided in Carl's favour. Thus, Ben is still available!"

"Grandpa!" Aurah burst into laughter.

"I'm glad I've finally managed to make you smile tonight."

By the time they reached their room in Residence Inn, Aurah was so tired that she fell asleep into the safety of her grandfather's arms.

Richard took the remote and turned on TV. The breaking news was on.

_Exclusive! The serial raper in London was caught out! _

Richard sighed in relief as he caressed his granddaughter's hair. His cell phone started ringing. It was Angelina calling. He reached for it and hit the answer button.

Angelina was pissed off for some reason. Richard almost heard the creaking sound of her teeth.

"Dad, could you please tell me what the hell you two have been doing in London? No lies this time!"

Richard swallowed. _Uh, oh we're in trouble,_ he thought.

**ONE WEEK LATER**

The telephone started ringing for the thirtieth time since early morning.

A hand reached for it, bringing the receiver up to her face. A woman, no more than thirty with a beautiful face and attractive eyes, spoke:

"Ben, if you don't stop calling here, I'm afraid I'll have to call Mr. Hauptman and make a complaint about you!"

Ben coughed:

"All I want is to speak to Aurah for one second, Mrs. Castle," He spoke as polite as possible.

"She's not here right now."

"Why is her cell phone out of service?"

Just when Angelina was about to give him a sharp response, Richard walked into the room quickly. He caught Angelina's eye and mouthed "give me the phone."

Angelina half-heartedly extended the phone to her father and sat on the couch with a nervous face.

Richard took the phone. "Hello?"

"May I talk to your grandchild?" Ben asked restlessly.

"_Hi, Ben! I'm fine, thanks. How are you_?" Richard took a dig at him.

Ben flushed. "Sorry, Dr. Castle. How do you do?"

"Fine. Is there a problem, Ben?"

"No... I mean yes. I don't know how to explain," he said, taking a deep breath. "Two members of my former pack came to Tri-Cities last night. They called me and we met at Adam's place. They told me that the _traitor_ in the pack was caught. And I'm free to return to London and to the pack as well if I please."

"Good news for you," Richard said, preserving his composure.

"Moreover," Ben continued, taking another deep breath. "When I asked them about how they found the serial killer, they said you and your granddaughter had come to town. That half-vampire girl - Aurah, I assume- who was a soul reader fingered the right guy."

"That's right!" Richard proudly said. "I took a hand in the work myself. I checked the DNA samples –taken from the last victim and from the suspect- and they matched!"

Total silence. Ben was at a loss as to what to say.

"So…" Richard broke the silence, "Since you're proven innocent, you can turn over a new leaf in your life now."

"I guess I'm too puzzled to think about it right now," Ben murmured. "May I speak to Aurah, please?"

Before Richard could open his mouth, Angelina jumped to her feet, grabbed the phone and yelled:

"I've forbidden her from talking to you, Ben, and I swear to effing God, if you contact her, I'll have my attorney throw you into a hole so deep and dark that it'll make Tri-Cities seem like a weekend in paradise; during which I'll personally pay an even dozen anti-werewolf psychopaths to -"

"Wow! Angelina, calm down!" Richard cut in, taking the phone out of his angry daughter's hand gently.

"Ben?"

"Present," Ben sarcastically said, trying to shake the reproach he incurred from Angelina.

"Don't take offense. My daughter is actually mad at _me_," Richard said, glancing Angelina who was walking out of the room, from the corner of his eyes. "She's mad at us for intriguing behind her back."

"Why does she think so?" Ben asked in bewilderment.

Richard's smile yanked the corners of his mouth.

"Well… Before we headed for London, we told her that we were going to catch a George Michael concert."

"Oh, yeah, that was what I heard from Samuel, too." Ben grinned. "Then?"

"Then, after our departure, she opened the newspaper and read that George Michael had been taken into custody for drunk-driving."

"Uh, I see." Ben scratched his hair. "No concert."

"Honestly, it was worth it." Richard cracked a smile. "I'm so proud of my grandchild. She is much more courageous than anyone can be."

Ben paused for a moment and then asked: "When is she coming to Tri-Cities? I mean, Samuel must have missed her."

"Well, Samuel and Angelina had a bitter talk on the phone this morning. Angelina said she wouldn't let Aurah go to Tri-Cities again. Poor Samuel is planning to come here to see her when he has a break from the hospital." Richard sighed. "Look, Angelina doesn't have a prejudice against you. She's just angry because she thinks that Aurah has endangered her life for you. Soon as we arrived home, she took Aurah's cell phone and blocked her e-mail account."

"I understand." Ben stopped dead in his place, speechless. Richard's seriousness unnerved him.

"Sorry, Ben. I must hang up now. I've got works to do. Take care."

"Yeah, okay. You, too. Say "hi' to Aurah from me, please."

"Okay, I will." Richard hung up.

Ben's jaw drops as total desperation stormed his face. He hung up the phone, throwing it down on a side table.

"It's not that easy," he groused under his teeth.

He suddenly grabbed the phone back and dialed a number in a flash.

A young man's voice was heard from the other side of the line:

"Good evening. Welcome to Delta Airlines. How can I help you?"

"I'd like to book a first class ticket for a flight to New York on Saturday night."

First class was expensive, but since Ben had been living alone for God knew how long, he never had any extra expenses apart from bills and gasoline to his truck. As a result, he salted away a respectable amount of money in his bank account.

"Would you also want a return ticket, sir?"

"Not now. Thanks," Ben replied, sucking in a hard breath.


	14. Chapter 14

(**Soundtrack** : "Airplanes" - B.O.B feat. H. Williams)

A Delta Air 767 burst through the clouds and leveled off.

A young stewardess moved through the First Class Cabin. It was the regular mix of first class people: old ladies in Gucci enjoying

freshly baked cookies, a young crown prince in jeans and a t-shirt, business people relaxing after a tough day, and...

...a nervous young _man_.

Shifty-eyed. Alone in an aisle seat, the emergency row. The stewardess held on him for a moment, but not for too long. Then she continued moving into the coach section.

A few minutes later, another stewardess – an elder one- came into the first class section. Stopping at the lavatory, the "Occupied" sign switched to "Vacant" and the same nervous young man stepped out. He directly headed up the aisle.

"I'm sorry, sir. This cabin is restricted to first class," she admonished him.

Ben impassively removed a First Class ticket. "Is this what you're looking for?"

She looked at it -a little confused. She recognized in his nifty accent that he was British. She nodded.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Please. Is there anything I can get you?"

Ben looked askance. "No, thanks."

He continued into the first class cabin. The signs were turned on before the plane headed for the ground. After it successfully landed on, Ben took a taxi and went to the boutique hotel which he had already booked for a room.

**SUNDAY MORNING**

Ben circled around the island of Manhattan moving faster and faster till he reached the Fifth Avenue. As he came towards a building, he stopped. He took a deep breath before he knocked the door.

Richard opened the door with an expression of bewilderment mixed with amusement. He quickly stepped out, leaving the door on the jar.

"Ben! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Dr. Castle," Ben said graciously. "I came to see Aurah."

"If Angelina sees you around here, we all may get in trouble, you know," Richard muttered.

Ben shrugged. "I don't care. If she hates me, that's her problem."

Richard shook his head." No, no. It's not that."

"Then what?"

Richard took a quick look around and said; "Maybe we should talk inside. Angelina went shopping and she won't be back for at least two hours." He pushed the door open. "Come in, Ben."

Ben walked in an enormous living room by Manhattan standards, with a view that overlooked the park. Eclectic art from around the world emphasize Angelina's passion for travel.

Richard sat on a couch and Ben sat opposite. The maid came in.

"What would you like to drink?" Richard asked Ben.

"Coffee, please," Ben replied.

Raising en eyebrow, Richard looked directly at him. "Coffee in the morning? What kind of British are you?"

Ben was struck all of a heap. He just looked at Richard who turned to the maid and said:

"Bring us some tea, Doris."

The maid bobbed her head and left the room.

"I didn't think you might have tea," Ben murmured.

"Well, we have," Richard smiled. "Now, tell me, Ben. Where do you stay in New York?"

"I checked in the Dolphin's."

"Nice hotel… So, how long are you going to stay?"

"I have permission from wok and from Adam for a couple of days."

The maid set a tray of tea cups in front of them. Ben took a sip of the tea.

"Mmm… It feels like home. This is the best tea I've ever tasted."

Richard smiled. "Aurah chose it herself when we were in London."

After a minute passed in silence, Richard put his tea cup on the table and said:

"I wish I could put you up in my house, but Angelina wouldn't be cool with that, you know."

"She doesn't even know me," Ben said, making a face. "Why does she forbid Aurah from seeing me?"

"Well, she knows that Aurah likes you a little too much. And she's just afraid of the possibility that you might fall for her as well."

Ben cracked a smile. "That's crazy! Why would I fall for a twelve-year-old kid?"

"Do I look like a twelve-year-old kid to you?" A gentle voice interrupted their talk.

Ben raised his head from his tea cup and he turned to see an eighteen-year-old porcelain skinned girl with shiny honey-colored eyes standing by the stairs.

"A… Au… Aurah?" Ben spilt half of his tea on the carpet. He jumped to his feet, saying "I'm so sorry!"

Aurah walked over and took the tea cup out of his hand. "It's okay. This carpet is only five thousand dollars. Not a big deal."

Ben flushed with fever and discomfort. "I can pay for dry-cleaning. I can even pay for-"

"Ben, relax!" Richard cut in. "This is just a stupid carpet." Looking askance at his grandchild, he added; "And it's not five thousand dollars! Aurah is just joking."

Aurah said nothing. She just smiled mischievously.

The housekeeper came in with some cleaning stuff in her hands.

"Why don't you move to dining room and let Doris do her work?" Richard offered. "I need to make a phone call. Then I'll join you."

Aurah walked through the corridor. Ben was following her as if he fell under a spell. When they entered in the dining room, she turned her head and said:

"I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna say that I look different, aren't you?"

Ben took another look at her from head to toe. "No. You're still chubby." He smirked.

"Oh, I forgot that you usually go for anorexic type of girls."

"Ha ha ha, so funny," Ben said dryly. "So… how is your period going, Aurah?"

Aurah burst out laughing. "It's going fine. Thanks for asking. Well, my grandfather examined me himself and he said I'm able to give birth… contrary to most females of your kind.**"**

Ben swallowed. He wanted to change the subject immediately.

"I just came here to thank you," he shyly said.

"For what?"

"You went all the way to London, you coped with my former werewolf pack to find the murderer."

"I didn't do it for you. I did it because I wanted to."

Ben was puzzled. He approached to her in slow motion.

"Aurah, is there something wrong?"

Heaving a sigh, Aurah crossed her arms. "Three weeks… Three weeks passed without a word from you! You never called, you never e-mailed."

"You cell phone was out of service. And your e-mail was blocked. What was I supposed to do?"

"Those are just your excuses. You could have contacted me someway if you had really wanted to."

"I'm here now!" Ben said opening his arm to sides. "I came to New York just for you, to see you, to thank you, despite your mother's all potential menaces."

Aurah looked at him, expressionless. "Well, you saw me and you thanked me. What else?"

Ben forced a smile, hiding his disappointment. "Never mind. Sorry to disturb you. Good to see you again, Aurah. Goodbye."

Ben turned around and went to the front door with quick steps. Richard was still on the phone. Ben waved him "goodbye" and rushed out of the house.


	15. Chapter 15

(**Soundtrack:** "Afraid" – Nelly Furtado)

The sinking sun backlighted a series of abstract colored images. The holy images of stained glass and lead. Thin footsteps echoed across the marble floor.

Aurah Castle -a little older, more beautiful, definitely wiser, yet still very chubby, no doubt- was all alone in the house of the Lord.

And those doleful eyes of hers clearly telegraphed some kind of burden which rested upon her soul.

She reluctantly walked past the rows of empty pews toward a curtained confessional booth.

Aurah slid the drapes shut behind her as she entered, kneeling before the closed curtain. She took off her cardigan**.**

A priest entered the adjacent booth. He was barely visible through the wicker mesh. Aurah looked down, crossed herself, and began:

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been two months since my last confession..." After she swallowed, she continued:

"I became mean towards someone I care, someone I love. I broke his heart… intentionally. I never told anyone about how I feel now. But…"

"Yes?"

"Mom and my grandpa kind of figured, you know."

She balked at the memory of it. The priest bowed his head in the shadows of the other side.

"I see," The priest said reassuringly. "Why did you break his heart?"

"I was trying to ignore my feelings."

"Why?" The priest asked with a soft voice.

Aurah sighed. "Cause he's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?"

"Yes."

"And it matters to you."

"Not to me. It matters to my mom. She thinks that a werewolf is not a good match for me."

"Why does she think so?"

Aurah paused for a moment. Twisting her fingers, she mumbled; "I don't know."

"I think you know very well."

"What do you mean by that?"

The priest laughed silently. "Maybe I should go to him and convey your sincere apologies."

Aurah froze. A chill shot through her body.

"You're not a priest. Who are you?"

Clouds of icy steam shot through the partition. Aurah moved closer, trying to get a better look.

The priest growled; "Why don't you wanna join us, sweet Aurah?

A cold hand smashed through the wicker mesh right in Aurah's neck! She screamed!

Still screaming, she jumped out. She fought the white demon standing beside her. The cold hand's owner held Aurah's shoulders tight.

"Do you have to be this stubborn all the time?" He asked.

"I have to be and I will be… especially when it comes to the nasty vampires like you!" She growled.

Being offended, the vampire spoke; "You're one of us. You can't deny what you are!"

Aurah kicked him in the stomach with her elbow and broke free from his arms. "I'm nothing like you!"

He laughed**. "**Yeah, right. I almost forgot... You prefer to hang out with dogs."

Keeping a stiff upper lip, Aurah began to circle around him as she spoke. "How could you get in here?"

"Oh, please, don't tell me that you believe in fairytales which say no vampire can walk into a church**." **

"So you claimed to be a superior?" Aurah rolled her eyes.

"I used to be a priest before I was changed." He sighed. "I guess, that gives me a little more privilege."

"Whatever. I've told time and time again that I'm interested in joining your stupid vampire seethe. Nothing more to say. Now get the hell out of here!"

The vampire grimaced. "Oh, it's not very kind of you to curse into a church, sweet Aurah. You didn't use to talk like that. Well, it's probably because of your wrong choice of friends. Do you know that old saying? _**She that lies **__**down with**_ _**dogs will rise up with fleas**_." He laughed at his own feeble joke. "By the way, my name is Vulad." He extended his hand to Aurah.

Aurah crossed her arms. "Sorry, my mom told me not to touch a leech."

"Aww, you broke my heart, too now," The vampire said, placing his right hand on his heart. "Like you had broken that foul-mouthed British dog's, too."

"Stay away from him!" Aurah creaked her teeth.

"I don't think so." He scratched his nails to the wall.

"You know nothing. You're just bluffing."

"His name wouldn't be Ben, would it?"

Aurah, terrified, forced herself to speak louder.

"You're going to stay away from him!"

"What if I don't?"

"I'll tear the crap out of you!"

The vampire smiled arrogantly. Ignoring Aurah, he went by the door. "It's dark outside. My time now." Those were the last words he said. He disappeared in an eye-blink.

Aurah exploded out of the building right after him and she hurried down the sidewalk.

**BEN **

Ben was walking along the streets of Manhattan since he had left Dr. Castle's house. He had no destination. He was just walking until he could get too tired to think of Aurah.

His head was full thoughts. He didn't know who was to blame. Aurah? Angelina? Or himself?

Angelina was thinking that her daughter had feelings for Ben. And those feelings might be reciprocal -even though Ben strongly objected each time the subject was brought up.

Then why did his heart start beating like blazes when he saw Aurah this morning? She was older- like almost 18-, taller and her hair was longer. She was wearing tight jeans and a shed-like t-shirt which said "NYC GIRL".

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Ben jumped out of his skin. It was just a couple of teenagers who was letting off firecrackers as they flew past on bicycles.

Ben shook his head. "Think I'm going crazy."

He walked into a narrow back street. The street lamps were throwing dim light on the road. Although the music from the bars was resounding, it was still kind of desolate.

Pulling his cap and putting his hands in his pockets, he kept on walking faster and faster.

His wolf instinct was yelling inside that there was something wrong. As if someone was watching him… He felt a presence around him. _Inhuman._

From the darkness, someone spoke - a voice low and rumbling, laced with an ominous gravity.

"Hello, little wolf."

Ben frowned. Although he wasn't familiar with this voice, he was smart enough to recognize that the owner of it was a vampire.

"What do you want?"

"I'm just checking you out. Whether you are satisfied with your New York vacation."

"Oh, how kind of you!" Ben made a sarcastic face.

A pair of red eyes pierced the gloom – and even though he remained partially shadowed, this guy had to be the scariest blood-sucker Ben had ever seen.

"Are you ready to go back to Tri-Cities?"

Ben curled his lip. "What makes you think I wanna go back?"

A hand emerged from the darkness. Ben wanted to bolt. Instead, he fought with the taloned fingers trying to brush his throat. He started to _change_.

The vampire gave a tiny smile. "You must forgive me, dog. It feels like centuries since I last fed. You ate one of us. Now I'm gonna eat you!"

"I'm afraid a werewolf's meat is a vampire's poison." Ben creaked his teeth.

Getting more frustrated by the werewolf's fearless threat, the hellish creature unearthed himself, roaring. It was difficult to make out in the dim light, but what Ben did see was terrifying. An elongated pale face with a blood-splattered set of hinged fangs - hinting at an inhuman physiognomy within. The hinged jaws open, coming at him. And just as the lights went out for good, something flew over them in an instant!

A half-vampire…

Quicker than the light, she flew, landing on the top of the wall and she sprang up at Vulad, all claws and gnashing teeth.

Vulad caught her by the throat, whirling her around. And he threw her to the wall.

Then he turned back to glance round. No Ben.

But he heard a GROWL. A formidable figure resolved out of the shadows.

It's a red wolf, striding towards him. The exaggerated sounds of his pawfalls were ringing out like drums of doom.

Vulad stared at the wolf. The wolf growled at him, low and menacing.

"I'm gonna kill you," Vulad hissed.

Simultaneously, Vulad turned and the wolf lunged forward.

Vulad showed his fangs just as the wolf sprang at him. The wolf caught him by the arm. Vulad kicked him away.

The wolf reached out and caught his leg before Vulad could fly. He pulled the vampire back to the ground.

The wolf relentlessly barked and latched onto Vulad's neck, dragging him down head-first! Vulad got kicked by the wolf's thrashing legs. He flew upward, hit the wall and fell back onto the ground, headless!

And it was over.

The red wolf turned back towards the half-vampire girl who was lying on the floor. He approached to Aurah, _changing_ back to his human form.

She was bone-white and there were fresh bite marks on her throat. Blood was staining her cardigan.

"Aurah! Are you alright?"

She nodded, shaking, struggling to recompose herself.

"Is he dead?" She asked, trying to raise her head to take a look at the vampire who was in tatters.

"Yes he's dead." Ben curled a lip. "He learnt in the hard way that he should never mess around with a werewolf."

Trying to laugh at Ben's joke, Aurah made a painful sound.

"I'll take you home," Ben whispered.

"No!" Aurah objected. "If mom sees me like this, she'll blame you and she'll probably start yelling again. Take me somewhere else I can be safe till my wounds get healed."

"Okay. I'm gonna take you to my hotel. It's not as posh as your grandfather's house. You just have to handle it."

"Please, don't make me laugh. My ribs are killing me."

"Sorry."

"And, Ben…" Aurah said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes**. **"At least put your trousers on!"

Ben stumbled at his own feet. "Yeah, right. I've forgotten that I'm naked."

After he wore what was left of his clothes, Ben took Aurah into his arms carefully and lifted her up.

He went on to the main street to find a taxi.


	16. Chapter 16

(**Soundtrack :** "Why Can't I Wake Up With You?" – Take That)

"Aurah, what the cuss are you doing?" Ben asked the chubby half-vampire girl who was climbing the gigantic tree beside the hotel building.

"What do I look like I'm doing?" Aurah bawled out him. "I'm trying to sneak into the hotel. Do you think the receptionist wouldn't notice my bloody outfit?" Do you want to be kicked off by the hotel management?"

"Oh, come on! This is not Residence Inn or Hilton. They wouldn't care."

"Benjamin, I know you're used to getting kicked off, but I don't leave things to chance."

She reached the top of the tree at one go. It was late and dark. No one was around. She sat on the highest branch, leaning against the stem. It was obvious that her wounds were hurting.

"Go to the fourth floor and open the window for me. I'll come inside."

Ben rushed into the building. The hall was empty. He ran so fast that the receptionist became perplexed. He didn't even wait for the elevator. Jumping over the steps in tens, he reached to the fourth floor just in seconds. He opened the window and Aurah flew inside.

He kept her from collapsing as they walked along the corridor.

"Your mother is going to kill me," Ben said, anxious enough to drop the keys once as he pushed the door open. Then he turned back to help Aurah get in.

"Don't worry," Aurah said, leaning on Ben's shoulder. "She hasn't killed anyone before." Then she gave a mischievous smile. "But… there is a first time for everything."

Shaking his head, Ben locked the door as he watched Aurah make her way past the bathroom.

"Can I take a look at your wounds?" He called out.

He didn't wait for her to respond. After all, this was the only reason why she'd agreed to come into his hotel room. He directly walked in without knocking the door. Aurah'd already found the emergency kit inside the bathroom cabinet**.** Ben closed the white toilet lid and patted it with his hand.

"Why don't you sit down?"

Aurah mildly sat down. She looked a little different to Ben's eyes. Usually, Aurah's stare was sort of devilish. But now she was looking more innocent than ever. She watched with large kitty eyes while Ben popped open the white box, methodically laying out bottles, tubes, tape and gauze. She studied his beautiful, slim hands, staring when they moved to pour alcohol on a diminutive white square of cotton.

Then she moved her eyes on her shoulder to assess her own injury.

"This is going to hurt, I suppose." She grimaced.

"Just a little bit," Ben muttered before he dabbed at the bite mark. Aurah felt the slight sting. She knew that if she'd been normal it would have burned like hell. Still she hissed like a cat. Ben's lips were curled when she hardly stopped herself from cursing.

Aurah wasn't feeling quite well because she'd lost some blood on the way. Her eyes were peeled on Ben's neck. She felt a strong urge to sink her teeth into the nape of his neck. She had to do something to ease the tension before Ben might understand what she was thinking. Sliding her eyes from his neck to his face, she bit her lip.

"Ben, may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did you really eat a vampire?" Her smile yanked the corners of her mouth as she asked.

Ben frowned. "Let's not talk about that, Aurah."

"Why? I wanna know." Innocent kitty eyes again.

Ben heaved a sigh. "Not on purpose. Let's call it an unfortunate event."

Aurah bowed her head to a side. "How did it taste like?"

"Aurah, please…"

"Okay. Okay. Excuse me!" She made a face.

Ben sterilized the wounds on her neck and on her shoulder before he wiped away the dried blood. He was experienced with this, Aurah realized with sudden clarity. Maybe werewolves were supposed to learn such things. Aurah knew that her father, Dr. Samuel Cornick, was taking care of more serious wounds in Columbia pack -even if he's not one of the pack. Warren told her that Samuel fixed Ben's hands, peeling off the dead flesh, after Ben had jumped into the fire with Adam to save Mercy. So, who was patching up Ben's wounds when he was in London? Megan? A curl of jealousy sprang up to claw at Aurah's belly and she tried to shake it. There was no place for jealousy here.

"Okay. It's done. I think you're gonna be all right," Ben said as his lips lifted into another half smile.

Aurah's devilish stare returned to her face. She smiled.

"When I was a little kid, each time I fell from the bicycle, my mom used to kiss my wound to make it better." Her voice came out as sweet as taffy toffee.

Ben, being stultified by her comment, raised his eyebrows. Aurah waited for him to give a sarcastic response, or to make a snarky comment in return. Anything but stand still and look into her eyes, almost passionately.

Ben could feel the air vibrating as well as Aurah could. He was trying to figure out whether it was the adrenaline from the nasty fight tonight or the waves of Aurah's arousing scent of flowers. He desperately tried to deny the fact that his wolf was in an urgent need of the girl in front of him.

After he recovered from the shock, he asked; "Did it use to help?"

Even before she answered, Ben knew that He had to run away. If he kept on standing this close to her, things would get out of control.

Aurah slowly opened her cherry lips to respond. "Everytime."

It was too late…

**_Mine!_** Ben's wolf yelled inside. The voice echoed in Ben's ears as his hazel eyes filled with a sharp look of passion and desire. He knew there was no going back.

Aurah watched as he heeled on the marble. His head was on the same level as Aurah's shoulder. He leaned forward helplessly as his mouth came closer and his arm pressed against her. He hesitated for a second. Then his lips brushed the wound on her shoulder.

When he lifted up his head again, he looked into Aurah's eyes and asked shyly:

"Did it work?"

The paleness on Aurah's face was gone. Her cheeks were becoming pink again. She said nothing, just smiled innocently.

"Okay. Let's get you to the bed." Ben sighed.

Aurah's innocent smile turned into mischievous. "Get me to the bed? What do you mean by that?"

Ben's eyebrows flew up. "I mean you need some rest. You should sleep or just lie down."

"Hmm, okay. Can you lift me up, please?"

Ben put his hand upon his forehead, giving a tense smile.

Aurah extended her arms to him. "Please!"

"You're not twelve anymore."

"So what?"

"You're not thin, either. Tonight I really had hard time carrying you around until I found a taxi."

"I'm 5'7 and 140 pounds. They call it average, baby." Aurah said smugly. "Besides, you're a WEREWOLF. You can even carry a piano all by yourself."

"Thanks for the reminder." Ben had to surrender. He took her into his arms and lifted her up. He gently laid her down to bed. Just when he was about to turn around, Aurah leaned forward and caught his hand. _Déjà vu._

"Lie down with me until I fall asleep."

"Aurah, please give me a break. Okay? My life changed since I met you, you know? I have to find back myself a little... And last time, you got involved, I didn't enjoy one bit seeing you explode against a wall!"

"No one said it would be easy to fight against a crazy vampire." Aurah shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly.

Ben, with a desperate look on his face, lay down beside her.

After a minute passed in silence, Aurah began to caress Ben's hand. "Your hands are beautiful. Too natty to be werewolf hands. "She hesitated for one second before she whispered; "Ben… in your hands… I'd like to make love to you."

Feeling nervous like a child, Ben retracted his hands. This made Aurah upset.

"You wouldn't have said no if that were Megan, would you?"

Trying to hide his face which was blushed, Ben murmured; "Aurah, you're virgin."

"Is this your excuse?" She curled her lip. "So, tell me, Ben, how many girlfriends have you had? How many times did you make love? Or sex?"

"I don't wanna talk to you about this." Ben covered his ears.

"Just give me a number. One, ten or a hundred?"

No response.

"What? You've had too many and you fear that it may shock me? I won't get shocked, baby. Let me tell you some things. A classmate of mine in tenth grade was a dick. He fucked all the bitches around Brooklyn. Even at school in Manhattan, whenever an empty class' door was closed, you could be sure he was making sex behind it! And this girl in my music class… She's the reason for the word 'bitch'. If you didn't get lap dance by her, you're the school's exception!"

Ben sucked in a hard breath, trying to recover. "Say no more!"

"Well, you haven't answered my question, yet. And if you don't, I'll keep on talking!"

Ben paused for a long.

"You're not able to answer because you have no answer to give!" Aurah kept pressing him. "Don't you think I've figured out? You've never had a woman! You've never made love!"

"This is not exactly true-"Ben wanted to object but Aurah interrupted his word.

"Yes, it is. I don't include the times when you were used by some sexopath, as a child," she mildly said. "You're as virgin as I am!"

Tears slid down along Ben's cheeks. He turned his back to Aurah before she saw him cry, knowing that even if she didn't see it, she would feel it anyway. Aurah approached him, but he rejected her.

"You see? I would never be a good lover..."

"All I see is you don't love me." Aurah drew herself away from him with a sulky face.

Suddenly, something changed in Ben. He quickly wiped his tears away and turned his direction back to Aurah, extending his arms and pulling her close at himself.

"Now get this into your smug head. I love you more than anything in the whole fucking world!" he sincerely said as he directly stared at her with his bleary eyes.

Aurah, feeling relieved by his confession, lowered her eyelids. "It's not enough."

"What else do you want to hear from me?" Ben asked, looking puzzled.

"Tell me you desire me and I'll be the happiest woman in the whole fucking world."

"Yeah, I know." Ben's smile yanked the corners of his lips. "But you're not yet a woman for the moment. So, we both need to be patient. You must grow up a little more."

"I don't know if I can keep on growing up, but I know that I'm not gonna get any older. Eighteen is just fine."

"Eighteen is fine." Ben approved.

"How old are you anyway?"

"How old do I look?"

"Hmm… Twenty one or twenty two, approximately."

"Not even close," Ben said yawningly.

"I mean, twenty one as in dog age." Aurah tittered.

Ben leaned forward and kissed her face all over.

"You're the wittiest, sweetest and the cleverest bitch I've ever met. That's why I love you. I love you madly!"

Aurah's eye caught the sight of the wall-clock.

She was startled, saying "Shit!" under her teeth.

"What happened?" Ben became panicky, too.

"I forgot to call my mother. She must be going of her nuts by now." She jumped out of the bed. "I don't have a cell phone. May I use yours?"

"Of course." Ben slid his hand into his pocket and extended his phone to Aurah.

She dialed the number, holding her breath.

"Are we screwed?" Ben asked, looking at her with as much apprehension as happiness.

"Big time." Aurah nodded, smiling.

Ben took a step forward and held her tight in his arm while Angelina picked up the phone, yelling…


	17. Chapter 17

(**Soundtrack: **"Why Wait" – Shakira)

Angelina laid the blanket over her sleeping beauty daughter. After she gently kissed her on the forehead, she turned off the light and went back to downstairs where her father was drinking a cup of tea, reading his newspaper.

She started pacing back and forth in front of him uneasily. Richard lowered his reading glasses and stared at her.

"Angelina, could you please stop doing this? It makes me dizzy when I see you pacing up and down the room. Aurah is home, safe and sound. You need to calm down now."

Angelina stopped. She put her hands to her sides. "Calm down? Tell me, dad, how can I? My daughter…" She sucked in a hard breath. "My intelligent, talented, pretty and well-educated daughter fell in love with a British peasant!"

Richard laughed up his sleeve. "Peasant? Since when a cockney* is denominated as peasant?"

"Oh, please, don't be funny! I heard his accent. He's not even a native Londoner. Only God knows which village of England he came from!"

"You know, I could be a peasant by some standards," Richard nonchalantly replied. "Before I met your mother, I was just a poor, silly boy who came from a small town of Canada to New York to study genetics. I had nothing but my high school diploma in my hand. Your mom was a student in the best school of Manhattan and I was working in a video store make ends meet."

Angelina raised her hand like a traffic police. "Ahh, please, don't start telling this story again, dad! I've heard it a million times from you and mom. I can't believe that you compare yourself to him. You're a respectable, successful scientist."

"And he is a computer genius."

"He is a fortune hunter!"

Richard put his newspaper to a side, assuming on serious air. "Honey, I honestly don't think that he's after money," he said.

"Why don't you understand me? He's not good enough for Aurah!"

"If you had asked me in the past, I would have told you that Samuel Cornick was not good enough for you. But it wouldn't stop you from loving him, would it?"

Angelina paused. She sat on the couch with a sigh, throwing her feet over the edge.

"He's a werewolf; she's a half-vampire. They might end up at each other's throat in the first fight they make."

"I don't think so," Richard shrugged. "Not on Samuel's watch, at least."

"They're so different from each other," Angelina desperately said, feeling that she's running out of reasons. "Aurah had a happy, healthy childhood. She's overprotected. She hasn't seen the cruel face of the world, yet. But this boy-"She paused for a moment. "He's damaged. I know his story. I investigated him. He had some unpleasant experiences as a child. What if he breaks her heart?"

"So, let Aurah see the the real world while she was healing his soul." Richard winsomely said. " If you investigated him, you must have seen that each time he fell, he always pulled through with no one's help and stood on his own feet." When Richard paused to take a breath, he suddenly frowned as if something crossed his mind. "Besides," he said, crossing his arms. "I don't think that Samuel Cornick had any unpleasant childhood experiences. But he broke your heart anyway. He let you go and didn't keep the track of you when you said you were pregnant with his baby! How will you respond to that?"

Angelina's face flushed with frustration. She couldn't say anything since she had no response to that.

"Give the boy a break, Angelina! Let them love each other."

"What do you suggest?" She put her hand on her forehead. She sounded tired.

"Invite him to breakfast for tomorrow morning. We thank him for rescuing Aurah and we try to understand their future plans for each other." He winked at her.

"Okay, I will." Angelina sighed. "I'm going to call him now and I'm going to sleep. If I can sleep, of course!" She bent on his father and placed a kiss good night on his cheek.

"Good night, honey," Richard said, smiling. "May God help you, Benjamin," he muttered to himself after Angelina went upstairs.

* * *

***Cockney : **The term used for working-class Londoners. (Please, check out Wikipedia for further information)


	18. Chapter 18

As the morning sun was shining beautifully on the fifth avenue, impatient Aurah rode her bicycle down the street to meet her mate-to-be halfway.

Ben, in his dark blue jeans and green sweater, was looking as much elegant as casual.

She intercepted him with an artistic maneuver. Ben couldn't help but smile, seeing her in tracksuit. Aurah smiled back at him. A smile that warmed up Ben's heart like nothing else could.

"Race you to the house," Aurah said, stepping on the pedal quizzically.

"I have a better idea," Ben replied, lifting up the bike easily. "Shall I carry you home?"

"Please, pull me back to the ground before someone sees us!" Aurah laughed.

Ben walked by her side as she rode her bike slowly.

"You know, I have a thought," Ben mildly said. "Why don't I just turn around and jumped from the the New York Bridge?"

Aurah rolled her eyes. "I thought you want to confront Angelina. Here is your chance. The sooner you get it over with, the better."

"Okay. But don't say later that I haven't warned you. You can have the biggest shock of your young life today." Ben gave a tense smile.

"After all those years living in the same house with them? Don't you think I know their weak spots?" Aurah said smugly.

"I hope so." Ben sighed.

"There won't be any problem. Relax."

When they arrived at the building, Aurah jumped off the bike and removed her bike helmet. She rang the doorbell. The housekeeper opened the door and let them in.

Richard was watching morning news in the living room. When they entered the room, he turned off the TV and came to his feet.

"Welcome back, Ben," he said, extending his hand.

Ben shook Richard's hand, smiling. He was almost feeling comfortable around this old man.

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Castle," Ben said.

"Nice to see you, too," Richard replied. Then he turned his direction to the housekeeper and asked; "Doris, is breakfast ready?"

"Yes, Dr. Castle," she replied.

"Where is mom?" Aurah asked, looking around. "She's not in dining room."

"We're gonna have the breakfast on the terrace," Richard said.

"Fantastic!" Aurah happily said.

They went on the terrace where Angelina waiting for them with a tense look upon her face.

She slowly arose from her chair. "Hello, Benjamin," she coldly said.

"Mrs. Castle, I'm very pleased to meet you. How do you do?" Ben graciously asked.

"Thanks. How are you?"

Ben couldn't stop himself from saying "Never been happier in all my life."

Angelina's eyes smoldered. Richard patted her hand to remind her to settle down.

She took a breath and said; "Have a seat, please."

Ben sat next to Aurah. Richard and Angelina sat on either side of them. Ben watched New York in bird's eye view from the terrace.

"Did you like it?" Aurah whispered to him.

"It's beautiful," Ben replied.

The breakfast table was laid properly and looking very inviting. A plate of toast and eggs, colourful table-mats, a bowl of fresh fruit and a knife in the centre of the table, warm milk poured into individual glasses. The tea was ready in a tea pot covered with a tea-cosy. All the things were ready at hand-bread, butter, honey, jams, sugar, salt and pepper along with teaspoons, forks and knives.

They started having breakfast in an awkward silence.

Richard decided to break the ice. "You know, according to the experts, breakfast boosts our brain-power, keeps us slim and lifts our mood, " he said. "It is not advisable to manage on a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits till lunchtime like Aurah usually does!" He gave his grandchild a reproachful look out of the corner of his eyes.

"Grandpa! Stop messing with me," Aurah said vociferously as she put some milk into her tea.

"Milk and tea? Aurah, what are you doing?" Angelina asked with a bewildered look on her face.

"I'm just trying something new."

"One week in London... And my daughter has become a completely different person." Angelina shook her head uneasily.

Richard laughed silently. Ben wanted to laugh too, but he held back his laughter, trying hard to look as serious as possible.

Angelina took a sip of her tea and stared at Ben. "So… Tell me about yourself, Benjamin. Aurah told me that you work on computers. Where did you get your degree?"

Ben quickly chewed and swallowed the morsel in his mouth. "I graduated from the University of Salford."

"Manchester," Aurah added.

"Sweetie," Angelina said, raising an eyebrow to Aurah. "I know you've become quite qualified in British culture, but I'm talking to Ben right now. So, please, let him express himself."

After she took one more sip from her tea, she continued. "What do you do for a living now?"

"I'm working at the Pacific Northwest Nation Laboratory," Ben replied.

"I heard of it," Richard said. "They are affiliated in some arcane manner with the Hanford Nuclear Site."

Ben said nothing, just nodded.

Angelina decided to test whether Ben is a spiritual person.

"So… Do you search for _Nirvana_?" She asked.

Ben was puzzled. He took a sip of his tea to take his time. "Well... Kurt Cobain was one of the most talented musicians of all times, but he died years ago and that's it." He shrugged.

Aurah and Richard burst into laughter. Angelina looked down on Ben, curling her lip.

"Did I say something stupid?" Ben whispered to Aurah, blushing.

"No, it was just funny… and sweet." Aurah smiled at him.

"When are you going back to work?" Angelina asked.

"Ben is leaving today," Aurah said with a sulky face.

"Yes," Ben muttered. "My time is up. I have to get back to work tomorrow morning."

Angelina's face was enlightened. A smile yanked the corners of her mouth.

"That's a pity," she said. "You didn't get a chance to explore New York."

"It's okay." Aurah shrugged. "We'll be back for Christmas."

"What do you mean 'YOU'?" Angelina's eyes smoldered.

"Well, I decided to live in Tri-Cities with Samuel… Or with Ben," Aurah calmly said.

Ben's tea went in the wrong way. While he was trying to recover from his shock, Richard was watching them in silence.

Angelina was about to raise the hell. Just when she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to pull up stakes with Aurah, Ben spoke:

"Mrs. Castle, please, I will accept whatever you say to me… Because I know Aurah deserves much better than me." He looked at Aurah for a second. Then he turned his stare back to Angelina. "As a concerned and protective mother, you think you're doing the best for her sake. But, the most obvious mistake you're making is underestimating your own daughter. Each time you go flat against her decisions, she'll fight you and your whole attitude... In everything you do and every argument you ever try to give her."

Richard who had been listening to them attentively decided to set in. He put his hand on his daughter's hand.

"I'm afraid Ben is right," he said reassuringly. "I can see the point."

"I just don't want her to be unhappy," Angelina sadly replied.

Richard smiled. "If she becomes unhappy, it would be the consequence of her own choice. And she will have no one but herself to blame… But if she becomes unhappy when you force her to stay, she'll blame you all the time for everything she couldn't do."

Angelina heaved a sigh of annoyance. Richard turned to Ben and asked in a serious manner:

"Do you love her?"

"Yes," Ben said without hesitation. "And I'd do anything for her." His eyes spoke the truth.

Richard turned to his daughter again and cracked a smile.

"Until today, I'd never have believed that I could say such a thing but if Ben fights you for Aurah, I think I'm going to be on his side."

"I never believed that l would hear you say a thing like that." Angelina gave him a tiny smile.

Ben coughed. "I'm sorry if I overstepped the line. This whole thing... happened so quickly... We didn't plan it that way. It just happened that way. I know it's like trying to do the **_unthinkable_**. But I don't care. Cause I'm in love."

After that, the silence set in again. Ben, after one more bitter look at Angelina, kept his head down and his mouth shut. Richard was examining Angelina's face to predict what she was thinking. Angelina was staring at Aurah with a worried frown.

"I guess I'd better be going," Ben said, pushing his chair to back slowly with a sad look upon his face.

Angelina raised her hand and stopped him. "Please, I'd like you to stay, Benjamin. We wanna get to know you better."

Richard winked at Aurah as she gave her grandfather a lovely smile brighter than the sun.

* * *

(**Soundtrack**: "Give It Up To Me – Sean Paul feat. Keisha Cole)

**LaGuardia AIRPORT - 5 p.m.**

Delta Airlines announced the arrival of flight 279 to Washington D.C.

Aurah wrapped her arms around Ben's waist.

"It kind of sucks that they don't have a direct flight to Tri-Cities Airport."

Ben twisted his fingers through her chocolate-brown hair.

"It's okay."

Aurah turned his head to left and checked out the flight board.

"You have only fifteen minutes left."

"It feels like fifteen split seconds." Ben sighed.

"How do you think your pack will react to your decision of taking a half-vampire as your mate?"

Ben grinned. "They're just gonna have to endure it. Besides, you're Marrok's grandchild. So, they'd better keep their mouths shut if they don't want Samuel to spring at them." Then the grin on his face vanished. He assumed on a serious air. "I hope Samuel won't spring at me soon as I arrive at Tri-Cities."

Aurah threw her head back, laughing. "Don't worry. I'll protect you," she winsomely said.

_Passengers with destination to Washington, please proceed to your gate._

_Passengers with destination to Washington, please proceed to your gate._

"I've got to go," Ben unhappily said.

"Yeah, you'd better go. Otherwise, you will miss your flight."

"But… There's one more thing."

"What?" Aurah raised her eyebrows.

"I don't want to regret later for not doing this before I leave."

Ben cupped her face in his hands gently and brought his lips towards hers. He kissed her with such passion that Aurah felt like floating on the air. She leaned into him as her lips trailed all the way down Ben's neck, until she found the hollow at the base of his throat and indulged in his smooth skin.

Ben sighed her name. "Aurah, don't!"

Aurah lifted up her head and looked into his eyes mischievously.

"What?" She tittered. "Do you think I'm crazy enough to sink my teeth into your neck and start drinking your blood in front of everyone in the most crowded city of USA?

Ben heaved a sigh of relief, smiling. He bent his head down and met Aurah's lips again with a strong, passionate kiss…

* * *

**OKAY EVERBODY, THAT'S A WRAP!**

**THIS IS THE END OF _"UN-THINKABLE"._**

**BUT IT'S NOT THE END OF AURAH&BEN'S STORY.**

**THEY'RE JUST GETTING STARTED :)**

**THANKS FOR THE LOVELY REVIEWS, MESSAGES AND ALL THE SUPPORT.**

**HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN...**


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